Going under the slogan A great place for the World Cup, a delegation from the WICB were given the go-ahead to host the tournament scheduled for 2007, but which could be held as early as 2005.

President of the WICB Pat Rousseau moved the motion which was seconded by England.

Later he said: ``We are extremely pleased about winning this bid for the 9th ICC World Cup. We are particularly satisfied with the way we presented our case that the delegates had such confidence in the WICB, to give a unanimous vote in our favour.

``Hosting this world championship of One-Day cricket will bring tremendous benefits to the sport, tourism and the Caribbean economy in general,'' Rousseau said in a WICBC release.

The four-member team made up of Rousseau, vice-president Julian Hunte, chief executive officer Stephen Camacho and chief marketing executive Chris Dehring made a half-hour multi-media presentation to the delegates following up on discussions with the members during the week.

Secure resources

The presentation sought to show that the WICB would be able to host the World Cup because it would secure the support and resources of the governments and private sector, and the structures and plans were already in place to upgrade facilities for the event.

The team also stressed that after 70 years' involvement in cricket, the region deserved the opportunity to host the World Cup.

The WICB also demonstrated that they would be able to guarantee profit-sharing for ICC members given the region's attractiveness as a tourist destination, the release said.

The 9th World Cup will be played between 16 countries with matches being played in the West Indies. It is also possible that venues in Bermuda, Canada and the United States may be used.

Dehring said that the WICB would provide a more extensive briefing on the World Cup bid for the people of the Caribbean at a future date.

The next World Cup will be held next year in England and in South Africa in 2003.