The 2024 T20 World Cup in June promises to be truly memorable, and not just because it is a T20 competition. This time, the number of teams competing in the main event has been expanded to accommodate more associate nations.
This time, the number of teams competing in the main event has been expanded to accommodate more associate nations.
This year's tournament will be the largest in T20 World Cup history with 20 teams playing 55 matches across nine venues in the Caribbean and USA.
The tournament, that runs from June 1 to 29, will see 20 teams divided into four groups of five. The top two teams from each group in the opening stage will progress to the Super Eights. There, qualifying teams will be split into two groups of four. From there, the top two teams from each group will make it to the semi-finals.
Group A: India, Pakistan, Ireland, Canada, USA
Group B: England, Australia, Namibia, Scotland, Oman
Group C: New Zealand, West Indies, Afghanistan, Uganda, Papua New Guinea
Group D: South Africa, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Netherlands, Nepal
What will also be unique about this World Cup is the entry of the US as a venue. While cricket has yet to take root in the country due to long-standing administrative issues and logistical problems, the T20 World Cup should jump-start the growth of the game in the vast North American market.
T20 World Cup 2024 venues
The tournament will be spread across nine venues, with the Caribbean hosting the bulk of the matches. However, the traditional cricket stronghold of Jamaica will not be hosting matches as the island nation decided against bidding for World Cup matches. The island also does not feature in the Caribbean Premier League as its franchise has been sold back to the league, with cricket slowly disappearing from its famous shores.
However, a number of matches have been scheduled in the US, including the blockbuster clash between India and Pakistan, which will be held in New York.
Among all the venues, the one in New York is the most interesting as it is not yet completed.
The 34,000-seat modular venue at Nassau County will host eight T20 World Cup matches, including India v Pakistan. Grandstands that were used for the Formula One Las Vegas GP will be repurposed for the venue with work set to commence this month.
Other venues have hosted cricket matches, across different levels. Below are all the venues that will host matches at the T20 World Cup 2024.
USA
Nassau County International Cricket Stadium (New York): 34,000 capacity, 8 matches
Broward County Stadium (Lauderhill, Florida): 40,000 capacity, 4 matches
Grand Prairie Cricket Stadium (Dallas, Texas): 15,000 capacity, 4 matches
Caribbean
Kensington Oval (Barbados): 28,000 capacity, 9 matches, including final
Guyana National Stadium (Guyana): 20,000 capacity, 6 matches, including semi-final
Arnos Vale (St Vincent): 18,000 capacity, 5 matches
Sir Vivian Richards Stadium (Antigua and Barbuda): 10,000 capacity, 8 matches
Daren Sammy Cricket Ground (St Lucia): 15,000 capacity, 6 matches
Brian Lara Cricket Academy (Trinidad and Tobago): 15,000 capacity, 5 matches, including semi-final
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
