St. Vincent Set To Host Sri Lanka Test (8 Jan 1997)

8 January 1997

St.Vincent set to host Sri Lanka Test

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, - St. Vincent and the Grenadines are set to become the latest Caribbean country to host a cricket Test match in the forthcoming series between West Indies and Sri Lanka.

The Arnos Vale Field in Kingstown, along with The Recreation Ground in St. John`s, Antigua, will host the two Tests which Sri Lanka will contest in the Caribbean in May.

"It`s a great fillip for cricket not only in St. Vincent but also in the Windward Islands area,`` Lennox John, the president of the St. Vincent et the Grenadines and the Windwards Islands Cricket Board, told AFP.

He added: "We felt our time had come. St. Vincent and the Grenadines have produced a few Test cricketers in the last 15 years and they never had a chance to actually see a Test match until they were chosen for West Indies.

"We need to expose our people to Test cricket and we feel this is a wonderful opportunity for St. Vincent because it`s Sri Lanka`s first visit to the Caribbean and it will be the first time we will host a Test match.``

The Arnos Vale Field has become a regular stop in limited overs series in the Caribbean for the last five years. In that time there has been substantial improvement to the facilities at the ground, one of the considerations that prevented it from being allocated a Test match prior to this year.

John, principal of the St. Vincent Grammar School, remarked: "I do not think that Arnos Vale is worse than any of the other grounds in the Caribbean. There were some doubts about the quality of the pitch, but I do not know why. We have heard about some of the pitches around the world and Test matches finishing in three and four days, so I do not think that should be a consideration.``

He said St. Vincent`s lack of an international airport and hotel rooms had prevented it from being a regular stop on Test tours.

"However, we felt that since Sri Lanka does not attract a large group of spectators, say like England, we felt the time was right for us to host a Test match this year,`` he added.

This could also be a trial for the ground. It is believed the West Indies Cricket Board will grant England six Tests when they tour the region next year.

To accommodate so many Tests, the West Indies board would make St. Vincent the sixth venue.

St. Vincent is the only other site in the Caribbean where international cricket matches are currently played.

The Sri Lankans are expected to tout the Caribbean at the completion of the series between West Indies and India in early May. However, the West Indies board has encountered a few difficulties in finalising the dates for the series.

Apparently, India plan to host a major limited overs international competition around the same time the Sri Lankans were to travel to the Caribbean.

"We have had no response from Sri Lanka about the dates after we revised the itinerary to accommodate the competition in India,`` John said.

West Indies were invited to send a team to the competition, but have declined the offer. The reason advanced has been that the team would have just completed the current tour of Australia and the series against India, along with the Red Stripe Cup, and the players would be too jaded.

Originally, the Sri Lankan series was to consist of two Tests and three limited overs internationals. At the moment, it seems there will be just one limited overs international to be played at Queen`s Park Oval in Trinidad.

Source :: Daily News (https://www.lanka.net)