ALL is in place for historic hosting of the International Masters Cricket (IMC) over-40s World Cup, scheduled to begin here on Saturday.

Ravendra Madholall, Media Communications Officer for  the tournament, confirmed to Chronicle Sport that despite hiccups, the tournament is on stream to start in Guyana.

“It is going good so far, a couple of months of preparation for this tournament. Because we know of the magnitude of this tournament, we are supposed to have 16 teams participating. Sri Lanka pulled out due to [sic] visa issues, but so far things have been progressing nicely, and we are looking forward to a Saturday start,” he said.

The former Essequibo Inter-County cricketer stated that this historic tournament will be thrilling and unforgettable.

“Over-40 cricket players have grown tremendously, and then we have got a number of players who would have [sic] played for West Indies at the highest level: Ramnaresh Sarwan, Denish Ramdin ( captain for the West Indies), Devendra Bishoo, Sewnarine Chattergoon, and even some of the other participating teams. We have got first-class players, so we can expect great competition. I was at the inaugural tournament in South Africa two years ago, and what I saw there was absolutely fantastic.”

The 15-team tournament will run until October 31 with games at several grounds around the country, with the grand finale taking place at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence.

The West Indies will be led by Denesh Ramdin, and he will have international experience in the line-up as well, with Ramnaresh Sarwan, Sewnarine Chattergoon, Devendra Bishoo and Jason Mohammed.

The West Indies have been placed in Group A and will start their campaign against Australia at the National Stadium, Providence, on Saturday.

The tournament has been organised under the auspices of the IMC in collaboration with the Cricket West Indies Masters Association and concludes on October 31st.