Across The Board: Sabina Back On The Ball (18 October 1998)

18 October 1998

Across The Board: Sabina Back On The Ball

The Barbados Nation

Within the next two weeks, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) is hoping that Sabina Park in Jamaica will be restored to its rightful place as a world-rated venue for international cricket.

Following the crisis of Thursday, January 29, 1998, when the first Test between England and West Indies was abandoned because the pitch was considered unfit for play, tremendous work has gone into the restoration of the strip.

Two preliminary matches in the 1998 Red Stripe Bowl Tournament were recently completed on the relaid surface, and several players, and commentators, gave the pitch high marks.

While those matches proved to be part of the "test" for the new strip, the WICB, in collaboration with the International Cricket Council, has scheduled a four-day, first class game for Sabina Park which will determine its readiness to regain its status as an international venue.

That game will be played from October 21 to October 24 and will involve the West Indies "A" team, preparing for the tour of India, and a Jamaica XI.

The board sees this as an important fixture, and hence the involvement of the "A" team.

An official inspector from the ICC will be in Jamaica to watch the game, along with a representative from the WICB, and report back to the council.

The board expects that the new Sabina strip will be given the green light, and having been in communication with the Jamaica Cricket Association throughout the restoration process, we expect Sabina to be fit and ready for the 1999 series against Australia.

The second Cable and Wireless Test between WI and Australia on their tour of the Caribbean is scheduled for Jamaica.

Following the recent Red Stripe Bowl matches on the Sabina pitch - Jamaica vs Leeward Islands and Jamaica vs Barbados - the players involved gave favourable comments on the performance of the pitch.

Barbados' captain Philo Wallace, who scored a half century against Jamaica, said the pitch played well.

Former Test player Maurice Foster, a member of the Jamaica Cricket Board, described the new strip as an excellent pitch. Indeed, the favourable comments being made about the Sabina pitch at this time are a far cry from that historic day in January, which may be remembered as one of the most trying days in West Indies cricket.

Not only was the Test abandoned, but the fall-out from the brave decision tested the crisis management capability of the WICB.

The decision to abandon the match not only turned out to be controversial but in some ways threatened to throw the whole Test series into confusion.

The board reacted swiftly to the crisis, and by the end of the day, with the assistance of the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board, the groundwork had been laid for an additional Test match at Queen's Park Oval, starting a week later.

The logistics for this undertaking were enormous, involving the rapid movement of tons of television equipment and a large number of personnel; renegotiating television contracts and acquiring additional satellite time.

The schedule of matches also had to be rearranged to accommodate an additional game.

However, all the goals were achieved and the re-fixtured match itself ended as one of the most exciting Tests in the Caribbean, with West Indies winning by three wickets.

Also in response to the problem, head of the ICC's Cricket Committee, Sir Clyde Walcott, was asked to undertake an assessment of pitches worldwide and he explained that problems with pitches were not limited to Sabina.

To reduce the likelihood of a similar crisis, the WICB has also moved to put systems in place and the board's Grounds Committee is expected to table recommendations at the next ordinary general meeting in Antigua in November.

Across The Board is the column of the West Indies Cricket Board.

Source :: The Barbados Nation (https://www.nationnews.com/)