THE 2024 ICC T20 World Cup returns to the West Indies for the first time since being held here in 2010 and features 20 teams and 55 matches from June 2-29.
Yesterday at the office of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) on Regent Street, Bourda, ticket sales for the matches in Guyana were officially launched.

Guyana’s 2024 T20 World Cup Brand Ambassador, Former West Indies Captain Ramnaresh ‘Ronnie’ Sarwan, who first played in an ICC world cup in the 1998 U-19 event where he took the most (16) wickets in the tournament, revealed that he was happy that Guyana will host the T20 World Cup for a second time.

“Playing at home can be an advance, but it could put more pressure on the players because the home fans are expecting their players to perform outstandingly in every match,” said Sarwan, who played at Providence in the 2007 ICC 50-over World Cup.
“It’s always exciting for the players to play in the Caribbean and Guyana due to the atmosphere the fans create here and the different places to see.

“T20 cricket in Guyana produces a cricket carnival for the visitors to have lots of things to do during the time they are here on days when there is no cricket.
“If you have not bought your tickets or booked your flight to Guyana, I encourage you to do so now, since Guyana is the place to [be] during T20 cricket,” added Sarwan, who captained Guyana in the inaugural CPL in 2013 and played in 2008 in the IPL for King’s X1 Punjab.

Overall ICC T20 World Cup Operations officer for Guyana, Monica Sharma, disclosed that the ‘grass mound’ has been divided into two sections: the ‘Grounds’ and the Party Stand.
Tickets for the Party Stand for the two games involving the West Indies are US$ 150 or G$31,400.

For the Uganda v Afghanistan and Uganda v PNG, the cost for the Party Stand is US$25 or G$5,250, while for the NZ v Afghanistan game the cost is US$100 or G$20,900.
The cost for the Party Stand for the semi-final is US$200 or G$41,800.

The cost for admission to the stands for games involving the West indies is G$10,000 and G$4,500 for Grounds, while the two other games involving Uganda are G$3,500 for Stands and G$2,500 for Grounds.
The cost for tickets for the NZ v Afghanistan match is G$5,500 for Stands and G$2,500 for Grounds.

Entry for the Stands for the semi-final is G$11,500 for the Stands and G$5,000 for Grounds.
For the first time ever an ICC World Cup will be staged in the USA with the opening game on Sunday June 2 being held at Grand Prairie Texas, when Canada will battle the USA.

These two countries played the first-ever international cricket match in 1844 in the USA.
The second game on June 2 will be at Providence in Guyana where host West Indies will face-off with Papua New Guinea from 10:00hrs

Six games, including a semi-final, are scheduled for Providence, which can accommodate a capacity crowd of 15,000.
Four of the games at Providence are night matches with Afghanistan playing Uganda from 20:30hrs on Monday, June 3, PNG opposing Uganda on Wednesday, June 5 from 19:30hrs, New Zealand will go head to head with Afghanistan from 19:30hrs on Friday, June 7.

The West Indies will face Uganda on Saturday, June 8 at 10:00hrs, while the semi-final is set for June 26 from 10:00hrs.
The top two teams in each group will advance to the super8 stage, with the top two in each super8 pool advancing to the semi-finals.
Tickets can be purchased at the GCB office from 10:00hrs to 18:00hrs on week days and from 10:00hrs to 14:00hrs on Saturdays.