Daily Times

The United Nations Saturday welcomes the historic T20 Cricket World Cup, which gets underway on Monday in Long Island, New York, with the hope that the mega event will advance the cause of peace in the face of a world beset by a series of cascading challenges.

“The United Nations fully supports and welcome these global sporting events which brings together countries on the sporting pitch for friendly and fair competition,” UN Secretary-General’s Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told APP when asked about the tournament in which 20 teams are competing for the coveted World Cup. The United States, where cricket is not a popular sport, is hosting this major tournament for the first time. Most teams have already arrived while the remaining are set to arrive over the weekend. The UN spokesperson went on to say, “Sports has a critical role to play in the advancement for peace at the international and local levels. “I take this opportunity to wish all of the participants in the Cricket World Cup great innings and no golden ducks.”

Sri Lanka and South Africa will play the opening match on Monday at the newly built, 34,000-seat Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in East Meadow, Long Island.

But all eyes are on the clash between the longtime rivals — India and Pakistan — on June 9. All seats are already sold out, with ticket prices shooting up from $300 to $2,500. Hotels close to the stadium are booked solid. The month-long festival is being shared between venues in Texas, Florida, New York and the Caribbean.

Meanwhile, security around the stadium, which was build in 100 days, has been beefed up following terrorist threats reportedly from ISIS, or Da’esh, and Nassau County officials say they are prepared to keep the area safe.

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman and Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder spoke about their security plans Wednesday. “Each and every day, Nassau County, as well as other communities and cities and counties and towns throughout the United States, receive all kinds of threats. We take every threat seriously,” Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said.

“To that end, we have taken many, many precautions. As well as making sure that the stadium and the surrounding Eisenhower Park are safe, the parking areas are safe, the watch areas are safe, we also are adding 100 additional police officers to our normal staffing for the rest of the county, just as a precaution.” The Police Commissioner, Patrick Ryder, went into detail about reports, purportedly posted by a group that supports ISIS, making vague references to “Nassau Stadium” and the date, June 9, when India plays Pakistan.

“When you’ve got a game and a crowd as big as this, everything is credible. We will go through every fine detail when it comes to the security and safety of the residents here in Nassau County,” said Ryder.

“I can guarantee you this is the largest security we’ve ever had to do in this county’s history, and I can also guarantee you the safest place to be in Nassau County on June 9 will be inside that stadium.”

“I think it’s almost to be expected at an event of this magnitude, ISIS trying to find some way to disrupt it mainly by propaganda by creating a sense of panic,” added former Congressman Peter King, a former Homeland Security chairman.