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In anticipation of a series of One Day International Cricket matches between the West Indies Senior Team and New Zealand to be hosted at Warner Park between July 11 and 16, Minister of Youth Empowerment and Sports, the Hon. Glenn Phillip, requested of the Cabinet of Ministers a declaration of July 11, 2012 as a public holiday. The Hon. Minister submitted that the growing number of international sporting events taking place in St. Kitts and Nevis augurs well for the social and economic development of our country and was strongly of the view that the declaration of July 11, the date of the first One Day International (ODI) Cricket match, as a public holiday should serve to boost the attendance of young people, in particular, and cricket fans, more generally, at the cricket matches. He contended that the ODI matches between the West Indies and New Zealand held here should achieve the goal of heightening the interest in the traditional sport among our young people, and long-termly improving our performance at all levels in the sport of Cricket.
The request to have July 11 declared a public holiday has been supported by the Management Committee of the St. Kitts Cricket Association, the St. Kitts and Nevis Chamber of Industry and Commerce and a wide cross-section of the cricket-loving public, Minister Phillip asserted. A formal announcement of the declaration will be made in the government's official Gazette at a later date.