CASTRIES, St Lucia -- Caribbean Community (Caricom) leaders concluded their two-day special summit in St Lucia late Friday, satisfied that they had made the correct decision on the shared hosting by Caricom of the historic 2007 Cricket World Cup.

As disclosed before the curtains came down on the summit, the region's governments had pledged to pursue a united and "non-adversarial" approach in preparations for the hosting of the World Cup series of matches.

Towards this end, all the established centres for Test cricket within Caricom, as well as other interested countries with the necessary infrastructure, such as The Bahamas, have committed themselves to avoid conflicts in competing for various aspects of the World Cup.

According to Prime Minister P J Patterson, the 2007 Cricket World Cup is "the most massive", high-profile and costly single event ever to take place in the Caribbean which, he said, had diverse populations comprising "peoples of the world associated with the tradition of cricket".

Patterson told journalists at a news conference after the summit that a special technical working group was being established by the region's governments to work closely with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB).

The working group will fall under the supervision of a restructured Prime Ministerial Sub-Committee on Cricket for which Prime Minister Lester Bird of Antigua has lead responsibility among Caricom heads.

Bird explained that while a number of Caricom governments that are party to the agreement for hosting the Cricket World Cup were anxious to share in the economic benefits to be generated from the historic occasion, they would be guided by the principle of what is in the best interest of the region and "not contest each other adversarially" for match venues.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has already determined that there will be no less than six and no more than eight venues for the series of 16 one-day matches.

The intention, therefore, is to ensure a "broad spread" within the region that would include considerations involving venues for practice as distinct from competition matches, as well as cultural activities that would be of interest to the many thousands of visitors expected for the event.

Bahamian prime minister, Perry Christie, said that while his country was not known for cricket, it was considering the construction of a multi-million-dollar stadium specifically for the 2007 World Cup, once it could be firmly established that The Bahamas would be linked to arrangements being made for the event.

The leaders held a briefing session with the president of the WICB, Teddy Griffith, and Chris Dehring who represented the West Indies on the ICC when they deliberated on the 2007 Cricket World Cup.

Mothers can't father

Trousers in Denim

Cream of the 'Crop'