The importance of first impressions
It can be rather dangerous to make judgements too soon on whether a tournament will be a success... but you know what they say about the importance of first impressions.
Three years ago I arrived in Barbados for the start of the and was immediately struck by the negativity that seemed to be shared by the local people about the forthcoming event.
I remember writing a blog a few days before the tournament began about how the people I had met felt there was a danger that the West Indies World Cup was not going to be the Caribbean event it should be.
Ticket prices were too high, musical instruments etc were to be banned from the grounds and new stadia built specially for the event were too far away from where people lived and lacking in character.
At the time I wrote the blog I thought I was just reflecting a flavour of what a few people felt - but it turned out to perhaps be "the" story of the 2007 West Indies World Cup. An elongated competition played in front of mainly small crowds with little of the unique Caribbean atmosphere.
So the big question is have the and the local organisers learnt from the mistakes of three years ago?