People in Port of Spain are gearing up gently for the tournament. Photo / Reuters
Monique Devereux, former chief reporter at the Herald and now Christchurch correspondent for Radio New Zealand, is at the Cricket World Cup. She brings nzherald.co.nz regular news and views from the West Indies
The good news is, Jacob Oram still has his finger attached. So does Ross Taylor and everyone else in the Black Caps.
Some are also wearing frowns, bemused by the furore over a throw-away comment that went global and had plastics surgeons in Barbados lining up at the
airport to greet the Kiwi cricketers.
Disclaimer: That last bit is a joke.
Apart from that little side issue, life is normal in Barbados. A little bit of cricket build up, a lot of construction going on.
Nothing is finished here, certainly not at the Kensington Oval but then again, nothing architectural looks "finished".
In Barbados the houses are either run down to the point of falling down, or half-built concrete mansions.
But no-one cares.
The sea is as blue as the brochures show. The sand is as white.
The sun beats down continuously on all of it – including the workmen trying to get everything done before the big games begin. They're "hustling" as one local described it.
Kensington Oval had been almost completely rebuilt. It smells of fresh concrete and wet paint and is swarming with construction staff all hustling on Island Time.
Barbados will host the final but really, that's two months away and you know, why worry so soon?
I can destroy a myth - no one here says "yeah Mon". Not even to me.
But they definitely love their cricket.
The Black Caps are favourites, after the West Indies. In particular the local journalists want to know if Jacob Oram's loss of finger will affect his game.
I reassure them it won't, and I am glad to see they all look much more relaxed.
