West Indies: Cool breeze at Windward

There was a new, refreshing look to first-class cricket yesterday.

Windward Cricket Club, located in Lucas Street, St. Philip, became the first venue outside of Kensington Oval to stage a first-class fixture in Barbados for more than a century.

The atmosphere was second to none.

It was one that reminded you of a Sunday afternoon picnic.

The ground has no stands, but there was adequate seating for the fairsized crowd.

Two tents stationed to the south-eastern corner of the ground and another two in the north-west were almost packed and there were spectators lining the edge of the boundary around the ground.

Admission was free, but the Barbados Cricket Association made chairs available for a daily rental fee of $5.

The beauty of the venue is enhanced by several casuarina trees on the southern stretch and a further three palm trees in the east.

There was no shortage of parking.

Behind the club house, there was space that at least a thousand vehicles could be accommodated.

One of those impressed by the entire set-up was Harold Eastmond.

'We should have left Kensington long ago,' said the renowned cricket statistician.

'The atmosphere here is so different and pleasant. Sometimes it is nice to just get away from stands.'

Elvis Howard echoed Eastmond's views.

'I like the picnic atmosphere. By taking the game away from Kensington, you have taken away things like congestion and the problem of traffic,' Howard said.

'It is also nice that people are free to get up and walk around.'

Richard Riley added a new, interesting twist to the subject.

'I like the concept. It reminds me of the `old-time' days,' he said.

'What needs to be done is to get at least two stands, but you still want to have the open area so that people can bring their baskets and relax.'

Riley hoped that this experiment would not be the last at such a venue.

'Once there is cricket, you are guaranteed that crowds will come out,' he said.

It was a point raised in reference to the distance of the ground from Bridgetown.

No one, however, raised any serious concern about that issue.

'People will come to first-class cricket wherever it is played,' said Glendon Edwards.

'There is no reason why we should continue to have cricket at only one ground. What they have done here is healthy for cricket.'

For those who want to come to watch this match over the next three days, public transport should not pose a problem. The Bayfield bus passes very close to the ground.

The only uncomplimentary remark was about the state of the outfield. In light of little rain in the island during the last few weeks, the outfield was a little dry and bumpy.

The positives, however, outweighed the negatives.