T20 World Cup tour: Ga Mantse, Speaker cricket association support

The Ga Mantse, King Nii Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, has pledged his support for the Ghana Cricket Association’s plan to construct a world-class cricket field to promote the development of the sport in Accra.

The Ga Mantse’s commitment followed an appeal made by the leadership of the Ghana Cricket Association (GCA) for land to construct a cricket oval when the International Cricket Council (ICC) T20 World Cup trophy made a stop at his Palace in Accra.

The glittering silver trophy was in the country as part of a two-day trophy tour and was accompanied by delegations from the ICC and the GCA.

Support
In an address, the Ga Mantse said he was delighted to receive the trophy on behalf of the Ga Traditional Council and the people of Accra.

He added that with greater collaboration between the Council and the GCA, the sport could be developed to a level that would rival boxing and football.

He said the council would in the coming days deliberate with the GCA on ways to construct the pitch within the shortest possible time.

Tour
For his part, the GCA President, Emmanuel Asare, said the tour formed part of activities to promote the cricket event that would be held during next year’s African Games.

He added that the trophy marked a new dawn for the sport in the country as his outfit would leverage on its presence to shore up the development of the game across Ghana.

Earlier, the trophy made a stop at  Parliament House, where it was received by the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin.

In an address, Mr Bagbin gave the assurance that he would use his office to court support for the development of the sport in the country.

He said he was particularly interested in the development of female cricket players in all regions of the country.

Mr Bagbin said he was confident that with a focus on training as well as infrastructure such as pitches and equipment, Ghana could make a massive impression in cricket during the 2023 African Games.

The trophy has already visited over 30 locations in 12 countries across four continents.

The Men’s T20 World Cup trophy made stops in Fiji, Finland, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, Namibia, Nepal, Singapore, and Vanuatu for the first time, taking the sport to more fans in different countries to get a glimpse of T20 cricket’s ultimate prize.