Soaking in history at Bourda

There was a sense of déjà vu for me on Saturday. Last year I was in the Caribbean for England’s Test series and, while in Antigua, paid a visit to the famous Recreation ground. This time I'm in Georgetown and I went to visit another great relic of West Indies cricket – the Bourda ground, which used to hold international cricket in this region before the Providence Stadium was built for the 2007 World Cup.

My trip to the place when Brian Lara twice broke the world record for highest Test score became a much longer visit than anyone imagined when the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium was ruled unfit after 10 balls of the second Test and the match was moved to The Rec in less than 48 hours. This time there won’t be any hurried switching of World Twenty20 matches to this old stadium with the Providence outfield free of sand.

Like The Rec, there was immediately a sense of history stepping foot into Bourda – the ground itself dates back to 1884 - making your way over the moat which runs in front of the main entrance much like a medieval castle. But rather than used for keeping out invaders this is to prevent the ground flooding as, like the rest of the town, it is below sea level. Not that water (or more specifically rain) hasn’t played a significant part in Bourda’s history, with England’s Test here in 1990 abandoned without a ball bowled.

Then it was through a set of blue doors welcoming you to Georgetown Cricket Club – albeit with 21st century security in place with bag searches and metal detectors – before walking into the ground surrounded by low stands and wooden buildings.

Wooden structures are everywhere in Georgetown and form the bulk of the ground. Nothing is particularly high-rise – there is no Kensington Oval or Lord’s style space ship for a media centre or towering floodlights – and the ground almost came upon us by surprise.

The stands bear names of some of Guyana’s greatest sons. Lance Gibbs, Rohan Kanhai and Clive Lloyd are all honoured at various points around the ground. For an outsider it is sometimes easy to forget what a huge part Guyana has played in West Indies cricket. It still does, of course, with Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, as well as Narsinghe Deonarine, in the squad.

Bourda remains an active home for Georgetown Cricket Club. The members' bar is beautifully maintained and a thriving hub of activity and conversation, especially on the day I visited as it coincided with a West Indies training session. You could hear one local regaling tales of Kanhai’s batting over a bottle of Banks – I couldn’t tell which innings but it sounded like a classic – while at the bar others trained their attention on the Bangladesh-Pakistan match from St Lucia. A perfect snapshot of the past and the present.

What is noticeable about the ground, unlike other Caribbean venues, is the wire fencing that surrounds the boundary. Georgetown locals are known to be passionate about the cricket and sometimes in the past that has bubbled over here with riots and pitch invasions. The scene on this occasion was much more relaxed as West Indies circa 2010 went through their training.

The overriding feeling, though, standing in the old ground was similar to the one that hit me in Antigua last year. What a shame that at least some international cricket couldn’t be retained here. Everyone saw the atmosphere when The Rec staged the hastily arranged Test. It was wonderful, especially on the final day when West Indies hung on for a draw nine wickets down.

This isn’t to slam Providence, which staged a vibrant opening day to the World Twenty20 and, compared to stories from 2007, now seems in a much more complete state, but it’s grounds like The Rec and Bourda that are where West Indies cricket history was made. Don’t lose them.