Sports Minister Welcomes ICC Official, Trophy
The Minister of Youth, Families and Sports Glenn Blakeney held a press conference today [Aug 16] regarding the ICC World Twenty20 Trophy, which is currently in Bermuda as part of a “pre-game world tour.”
Minister Blakeney said: “Today the Ministry of Youth, Families and Sports, in conjunction with the Bermuda Cricket Board, is delighted to welcome to Bermuda ICC Global Development Manager Tim Anderson…who brings with him this stunning ICC World Twenty20 Trophy that you see before you this afternoon.
“This silver and rhodium trophy, weighing 7.5 kgs and standing 51cms tall, will be handed to the winner of the men’s ICC World T20 Sri Lanka 2012 tournament at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, Sri Lanka on October 7th, 2012 and is currently making its way around the world as part of its pre-game tour.
“The trophy has so far travelled to Sri Lanka, Australia, the UK, Ireland, Malaysia, the USA, Canada, India, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, South Africa…and now to beautiful Bermuda.”
L-R: Bermuda CableVision General Manager Terry Roberson, ICC Global Development Manager Tim Anderson, Minister Blakeney, Bermuda Cricket Board Executive Director Neil Speight.
“This trophy also stands as a cheerful reminder to our island of the fact that the ICC has awarded Bermuda the opportunity to host the World Cricket League Division 3 Tournament in Bermuda during April 2013 – an announcement I made by way of press conference last month,” continued the Minister.
“The granting of this global qualifying event to Bermuda is a major achievement for the country, as opportunities to host these significant international competitions are scarce and are aggressively pursued by many nations. The last global event held in the Americas region was as far back as 2009.
“World Cricket League Division 3 is a six nation event, played over one week, and will serve as the final qualifier to the World Cup Qualifier in New Zealand in 2014. At the New Zealand event two countries will win the opportunity to compete at the ICC Cricket World Cup in Australia & New Zealand in 2015.
“The ICC World T20 is the marquee event of T20 cricket. Most of us will already know that the 2012 edition of the ICC World T20, to be played next month, will feature two Associate nations – Ireland and Afghanistan – and I wish them all the best next month in the competition in Sri Lanka.
“Furthermore, I wish to congratulate the Bermuda Cricket Board for its continued recognition by the global governing body of cricket, the ICC, which is the leading international agency responsible for developing the cricketing world.
“I look forward to discussing with Tim, Bermuda’s commitment to hosting next year’s World Cricket League Division 3 qualifying tournament, in addition to furthering our work to secure ODI accreditation for the National Sports Centre.
“In closing, I would like to again welcome Mr. Anderson to Bermuda and thank him for bringing this glorious trophy for us all to admire.
Minister Blakeney concluded: “I trust that our players and supporters will be inspired by this visit and I have every confidence that our team will qualify for the 2014 ICC World Twenty20 Tournament in Bangladesh.”
A smile… And the walls begin to crumble!!