CaribWorldNews, GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Fri. April 30, 2010: Host`s of the World Twenty20 cricket tourney, the West Indies, will take on Ireland in their opening match in Guyana today.

New Windies Vice Captian, Dwayne Bravo, is promising to bring his energy and enthusiasm to the West Indies team today. He is itching to run onto the field in the sparkling new Windies kit, when the home boys take to the field for their tournament-opener against Ireland under lights at the Guyana National Stadium today, 5 p.m. Eastern Caribbean Time/4 pm Jamaica Time.

'This is a big tournament, a very important tournament for us! We are really, really looking forward to this event. It is an open tournament, all the teams are good and have a good chance, but we believe we have the ability to go all the way. As West Indians we are all looking forward to the next two weeks … so we as a people can showcase to the world what we are all about,` commented Bravo. `As a player, I am up to the challenge and we will be trying to have a better ICC World T20 Tournament than we did last year in England. Last year, we had a decent time reaching the semi-finals and that was very good. This time around we are at home and we want to use home advantage and go further.`

ICC President, David Morgan, says the event is a chance to celebrate the unique contribution cricket in the Caribbean makes to the global game.

 `Over the next 17 days, I am looking forward to a celebration of all that`s good about West Indies cricket. We`re encouraging the people of the Caribbean to bring their enthusiasm and passion for cricket to the matches and make it a memorable event for everyone involved,` said Morgan.  `Bring your musical instruments, your songs and cheers, your flags, banners and colorful costumes. And, above all, bring that party spirit for which cricket matches in the West Indies are famous.`

West Indies will not be the only team getting in on the action today. New Zealand takes on Sri Lanka, also in Guyana. All the action builds up towards the final, which takes place in Kensington Oval, Barbados on 16 May. St Lucia is the other venue for the men`s event with the early stages of the women`s tournament taking place in St Kitts.

In an initiative designed to promote women`s cricket, the semi-finals and final of that section of the tournament will take place as double-headers with the men`s version in St Lucia and Barbados.

For a full schedule and more information about the event, including how to access rights-free audio clips, go to www.iccevents.yahoo.com.

Meanwhile, cricket fans in 181 territories have the chance to see the best players in the world as ESPN STAR Sports builds up for the big event in the West Indies

The world`s most popular and knowledgeable commentators will call the games, including David Lloyd, Ravi Shastri, Sunil Gavaskar, Ian Bishop and Ian Chappell

The ICC World Twenty20 2010 will be broadcast in more than 181 territories across six continents.

Meanwhile, in the U.S., fans can tune in to http://www.onecaribbeanradio.com/ to  listen to ball-by-ball commentary for the next 17 days.