Grenada facilities praised by England ‘A'

England 'A' captain Mark Alleyne and manager James Whitaker have heaped loads of praise on the cricketing facilities in Grenada.

England 'A' arrived in Barbados early yesterday for Friday's Busta Cup match against Barbados and spent the afternoon doing sprints and stretches under the watchful eye of trainer Richard Smith.

Alleyne, born in England to Barbadian parents but raised in Barbados, said the training pitches and other accompanying elements were top-class when his side played two of its three matches at the new Stadium in St. George's.

"It (net facilities) is one area where you think the Caribbean may be a bit limited," said Alleyne, the Gloucestershire County captain, who was educated at Harrison College.

"But certainly in Grenada they were great. The net services were very good, the groundsmen were fantastic and looked after us well. I was very impressed."

Whitaker, who played his only Test in the 1986-87 Ashes series, also expressed delight at the new facilities, to be officially opened next week.

"Grenada was fantastic, they did really well for us. Trinidad was a little down from Grenada, but they too were fine," Whitaker said. "I think there is a big initiative and big innovation to get West Indies cricket back where it should be at the top of the tree."

Alleyne added that his side will not be taking the Bajans for granted over the weekend in the four-day encounter.

"I think we are getting better and better and we will work hard over the next two days to make sure we are spot on for the match. We do realise Barbados could be a serious threat in the competition. I'm not saying we are going to play it safe, but we are certainly going to play with the respect that Barbados deserves."

The visitors welcomed Graeme Swann to the side. He replaces fellow Northamptonshire off-spinner Jason Brown, who joined the Test side in Sri Lanka.