Jamaica leg of India's Windies tour in doubt

The Jamaican leg of India's tour to the West Indies later this year might be scrapped or switched to another venue after fears that the ground at Sabina Park, Kingston, currently being spruced up for the 2007 World Cup, might not be ready to host the matches.

India are scheduled to play two one-day internationals there on May 18 and 20, and the fourth Test from June 30 to July 4. However, cement shortage in Jamaica has meant that the US$29 million renovation project at the venue is behind schedule by at least two weeks, according to a report in Jamaica Observer. Robert Bryan, the chief executive officer of Jamaica Cricket 2007, indicated that a final decision on the matches will be taken soon. "We are at an advanced stage of evaluating and as soon as a decision is taken, an announcement will be made in short order," Bryan was quoted as saying by the daily.

Paul Campbell, the vice-president of the Jamaica Cricket Association, also indicated that getting the venue ready for the Indians will be tough. "As we speak there is no final decision, [but] it was brought to our attention last week [by the Sabina venue development team] that under the current circumstances meeting the deadlines will be really, really tight.

"The focus is World Cup 2007. That's the big picture," said Campbell. "What is being assessed is whether hosting international games in the short term will impact negatively on our hosting the World Cup next year. How will it affect our delivery of the venue on time? That's the question." A decision on the matter could be taken as early as Tuesday (April 11).

Sabina Park will host seven World Cup matches, including the first game and a semi-final, but work on the ground has been hit first by labour problems, and then by the cement crisis. The problem was further exacerbated when batches of cement were recalled as they were of substandard quality.