Wills International Cup Countdown
By Zahid Newaz and Rick Eyre
South African groundsman Phil Russell is now giving final touch to
wickets and outfield at the venue, Bangabandhu National Stadium. He
arrived in Dhaka on Tuesday to look after the pitch and ground. He
expressed satisfaction over the pitch, that might be a batting
paradise.There will be no separate gallery for women at Bangabandhu
National Stadium during the Wills Cup. After the experience in
Independence Cup in January, the BCB has decided not to keep a
separate gallery. The women's gallery was thin during the Independence
Cup while the entire stadium was crowded. Many women were seen
watching the matches in general galleries. A BCB official said they
took the decision after considering that the cricket-loving women
usually come to the stadium along with their family members or close
friends. "So, this time there will not be separate gallery for women,
such gallery also doesn't exist other parts of the world," he said.Once again the toilet problem will struck the spectators in
general galleries of the stadium. Organisers have arranged 75 toilets
for 30,000 crowd who will watch the matches in ordinary galleries. It
means, there will be one toilet for every 400 spectators. However, the
arrangement of toilets in VIP galleries will be satisfactory.Mini-world-cup or not mini-world-cup? Originally described in
those terms when first mooted midway through 1997, the term was
quickly officially discarded, firstly in favour of "ICC Knockout
Tournament" and now "Wills International Cup" after its naming rights
sponsor Wills Sport. While the ICC have actively discouraged use of
the "mini world cup" expression by the media, many people in
Bangladesh proudly use the term to describe the event, excited at the
prospect of the nine best teams in the world all competing in their
country at the same time.
