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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=629 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=3><DIV class=mxb><DIV class=sh>Jamaica geared up for World Cup </DIV></DIV></TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=416><DIV class=mvb><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=416 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=bottom><DIV class=mvb><SPAN class=byl>By Andy Gallacher </SPAN>
<SPAN class=byd>BBC News, Kingston, Jamaica </SPAN></DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
</DIV>
The Cricket World Cup will be watched by more than a billion people and it is expected that as many as 80,000 fans will make the trip to the West Indies to see the matches in person.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=203 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD><DIV>
<DIV class=cap>Children from the Dallas Strikers club will not get to see their heroes</DIV></DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>For the nine island nations that are hosting the event this has meant months, sometimes years of preparation.
In Kingston, Jamaica, as in many of the other host cities, last-minute work is still going on.
Many of the city's streets are still undergoing construction work, adding to the congestion that characterises the capital's main roads.
The capital's Mayor, Desmond McKenzie, says it has been a huge task - one that has thrown up many challenges.
"We might not have anticipated what it really entails in terms of the time when we started," he says showing the strain of months of endless projects.
"But it is a major, major event that has a whole lot of components and for me it offered so much in terms of what was required to put it on, but we have finally got control of it and we're moving forward."
Old Glory
At one of Kingston's historic cricket grounds, that progress shows.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=203 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD><DIV>
<DIV class=cap>Sabina Park has seen some of cricket's finest moments</DIV></DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Sabina Park has been home to the game for about two centuries.
The old wooden building that is the Kingston Cricket Club is now overshadowed by new state of the art stands and a pristine pitch that is being constantly watered under the hot sun.
Denzel Wilkes, the venue manager for the park, says fans will be impressed by the facilities of a ground that will now hold just under 20,000 fans.
"We like to believe that this is the premier cricket ground in the Caribbean," he says, glancing at the works which cost just over $29m (£15m).
"All the stands are completed, we have some minor things to do. We have really taken this facility to another level and I think that the public at large are really beginning to warm to the event."
Kids not invited
At the Dallas Strikers Cricket Club for boys and girls in the Red Hill Gardens neighbourhood they are already passionate about the sport.
The children play with plastic bats and stumps, many are dressed in little more than rags.
Admission prices will exclude them from experiencing seeing their heroes play in person.
"They should have made a special reservation for the kids to come to the World Cup... to let them see what it's like, the nearness of the players and the togetherness of the cricket," says Lenrod Higgins, the club's president.
Ready to go
People in Jamaica are getting excited about what will be an important event for the people and economies of the West Indies.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=203 align=right border=0><T
<SPAN class=byd>BBC News, Kingston, Jamaica </SPAN></DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
</DIV>
The Cricket World Cup will be watched by more than a billion people and it is expected that as many as 80,000 fans will make the trip to the West Indies to see the matches in person.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=203 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD><DIV>
<DIV class=cap>Children from the Dallas Strikers club will not get to see their heroes</DIV></DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>For the nine island nations that are hosting the event this has meant months, sometimes years of preparation. In Kingston, Jamaica, as in many of the other host cities, last-minute work is still going on.
Many of the city's streets are still undergoing construction work, adding to the congestion that characterises the capital's main roads.
The capital's Mayor, Desmond McKenzie, says it has been a huge task - one that has thrown up many challenges.
"We might not have anticipated what it really entails in terms of the time when we started," he says showing the strain of months of endless projects.
"But it is a major, major event that has a whole lot of components and for me it offered so much in terms of what was required to put it on, but we have finally got control of it and we're moving forward."
Old Glory
At one of Kingston's historic cricket grounds, that progress shows.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=203 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD><DIV>
<DIV class=cap>Sabina Park has seen some of cricket's finest moments</DIV></DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Sabina Park has been home to the game for about two centuries.
The old wooden building that is the Kingston Cricket Club is now overshadowed by new state of the art stands and a pristine pitch that is being constantly watered under the hot sun.
Denzel Wilkes, the venue manager for the park, says fans will be impressed by the facilities of a ground that will now hold just under 20,000 fans.
"We like to believe that this is the premier cricket ground in the Caribbean," he says, glancing at the works which cost just over $29m (£15m).
"All the stands are completed, we have some minor things to do. We have really taken this facility to another level and I think that the public at large are really beginning to warm to the event."
Kids not invited
At the Dallas Strikers Cricket Club for boys and girls in the Red Hill Gardens neighbourhood they are already passionate about the sport.
The children play with plastic bats and stumps, many are dressed in little more than rags.
Admission prices will exclude them from experiencing seeing their heroes play in person.
"They should have made a special reservation for the kids to come to the World Cup... to let them see what it's like, the nearness of the players and the togetherness of the cricket," says Lenrod Higgins, the club's president.
Ready to go
People in Jamaica are getting excited about what will be an important event for the people and economies of the West Indies.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=203 align=right border=0><T