French Bakery Charlottesville 2024-06-26 French Bakery Charlottesville - Last update images today French Bakery Charlottesville Hawks Dealing Murray To Pelicans, Sources Say In an astroturfed gazebo at the back of a cricket stadium in South America were four men: England's white-ball coach, media manager and head of security, and me. It is a privilege to travel around the world covering this sport but Thursday's T20 World Cup 2024 semi-final was about as surreal as it gets.My colleague Sidharth Monga and I decided which semi-finals we would cover in April: Sid would go to Trinidad, I'd head to Guyana. Even then, hotel availability was limited and flights back and forth from Barbados were scarce; even more so once the ICC publicly confirmed that India would play in the second semi-final if they progressed, regardless of their finishing position in the Super Eight.No wonder, then, that when the rest of the touring England press pack attempted to book trips at less than three days' notice - when England's semi-final destination was decided - they had little joy. Mike Atherton juggled TV commentary with his work for the Times, while Alex Davidson and Gareth Copley were there on behalf of Getty Images. But for the UK written press alone, it was just me.It led to a strange few days. The day before the game, I realised I was likely to be the only journalist who would ask Rohit Sharma whether India's predetermined semi-final was an advantage to them, and what he made of the lack of a reserve day with rain in the forecast. Immediately after he shrugged the question off, I put an AirPod in to listen to Matthew Mott's Zoom call with my colleagues in Bridgetown; I hope Rohit didn't notice.Guyana's rich cricketing legacy and its obvious association with West Indies can obscure its unique status as the only major cricketing nation in South America, on account of Britain's colonial rule in the 19th century. It is a rapidly-developing country after the recent discovery of 11 billion barrels of oil off the coast and much of the capital city, Georgetown, is under construction as a result.The semi-final itself was a bizarre spectacle. I spent 12 hours at the Providence Stadium, arriving early to beat the traffic on the advice of my taxi driver, Nigel. He made two predictions while dropping me off: "Cricket will play, and England will take licks." So it proved, despite heavy showers throughout the morning.The crowd was poor for a World Cup semi-final, which was no surprise. Guyana requires Indian visitors to apply for a visa, a lengthy process which disincentivises travel, and England supporters suffered from the same issues as the press pack. Reece Topley's dad, Don, made it, as did a couple of hardcore fans who belted out the national anthem on the grass banks.But the locals largely stayed away, for two obvious reasons. One, they had no dog in the fight: as with the rest of the Caribbean, Guyanese interest in the World Cup fell sharply with West Indies' elimination on Sunday. And two, the game was due to start at 10.30am on a Thursday, local time. It reflects the reality of cricket's economic model and its reliance on Indian broadcast revenue, but it is a hard sell to fans who would have to take a day off work to attend.The result was that only around 7,000 tickets were sold, per an ICC estimate - plus some free ones distributed to sponsors and teams. This, in a stadium which seats 15,000 people and becomes a cricketing carnival during the Caribbean Premier League: it reinforced the fact that World Cups are increasingly products for TV viewers rather than matchgoing fans.As I stood in the mixed zone tent behind the media centre, asking Mott questions for 10 minutes - some my own, others on behalf of colleagues - I could not escape the feeling that this was a strange semi-final of a strange World Cup. There may never be another quite like it. GettyImages 1356368784.jpe GettyImages 455691282 384080a655a608d23199dbce1b97a01a 317807637 581515693978946 6904094378578993057 N Loaf ?resize=784%2c588 0bf2fa3072b41f9648c47df18fe45032 C1e150f7f6ed13b71a9ce326d77a588f 1493908438 Ca Croustille French Bakery In Vancouver 1616689370 ?width=1200 7375823312 C6d245b9ba B IMG 9727 1 656a25e27de051a2a2c279a4 BDN2 P 500 French11 300x245 348s Vie De France Cafe Bakery Potomac MD Pastries Saint Germain French Bakery By Campfire 21 CMPFRpcm ByGL Scaled 26b83a72b495a3f12b935bcbad0a80ea French Bakery Charlotte Nc ?media Id=996696004584835&get Thumbnail=1 La Parisienne French Bakery Photo 1 Enhanced ?max H=400&w=1110&fit=crop&crop=faces,center Caption ?w=600&h=400&s=1 1 7375825924 6959355b28 B Frenchette Bakery Counter 241791260 2998287183760077 3785783802185080314 N 896b2976 6f0a 4065 A718 488adacd888d O 68ab14 B0567de6d7854fe3b9b87848dd6b0230~mv2 Chez Francois 2 Frenchbakeryfood2 Amelies French Bakery A Charlotte Nc H728ye O 007cd7a117e34e39f642b7bfb70db810 French Bakery Bakeries 6a00d8341c4e0553ef014e8899aef9970d 600wi 52d50a8207e2b609c20f77eb7fd04c91 3