Caribbean countries will lose their venue rights if their 2007 World Cup stadiums are not ready in a year, a cricket official said on Wednesday. The construction or renovation of almost all of the stadiums in the nations chosen to host matches - Antigua, Barbados, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and Trinidad - was behind schedule. The stadiums must be ready in December 2006, said Don Lockerbie, of Windies World Cup 2007, Inc., a venture of the International Cricket Council and West Indies Cricket Board. "Countries have been put on notice,'' said Lockerbie. "There is an urgent need for venues to be ready when the assessors from the ICC visit the region in February and March.'' The World Cup is being held in the Caribbean for the first time. Among the stadiums behind schedule was Kensington Oval in Barbados, one of the region's most famous cricket ground. It is scheduled to host eight matches plus the final in April 2007. Fourteen Indian workers hired by the Indian contractor were recently deported, and organizers have requested at least 60 more Indian specialists to get redevelopment on track. Organizers will draft contingency plans in case any country fails to meet its obligations, Lockerbie said.