Dear Editor,
Did the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) mislead me when I purchased my tickets for the two One Day International cricket matches to be played at the National Stadium at Providence this weekend between the West Indies and England?
About three weeks ago I went to the sales booth at the GCB at Bourda and requested three tickets each for the south-west stand (Green Stand) for both the first and second matches. The cashier on duty told me that all tickets for the Green Stand for the Sunday game had been sold out and so I settled for three tickets for the Green Stand for the Friday match and three tickets for the north-west stand (Red Stand) for the Sunday game.
While driving home from my office on Monday afternoon (March 17) I heard on the car radio that the matches had not been sold out, as was previously told to me by the GCB, and that a limited amount of tickets for all the stands for both games were still available. This announcement came in the wake of a Sean Devers’ report in the Kaieteur News of the same date in which Mr Claude Raphael of the GCB Security Committee said that “…personnel (security) will also be present in the stands during the two games which have already been sold-out.”
What confusion! Confu-sion?
Could it be that all the tickets for the 15,000-seater stadium have indeed been sold but that the GCB in collaboration with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) are going for overkill by selling additional tickets in view of the renewed interest in our Windies side, having recently won both the Test series and the T20 match. If this were to be the case, the WICB through its Guyana surrogate, GCB, would be in breach of the International Cricket Council (ICC) rules and regulations and someone would have to be hauled over the coals. Are we going to see fans sitting along the passageways within the stands in the stadium? Are my six seats for the two matches secure? We deserve and demand to hear from both entities now.
As enthusiasts of the game, we ought to be able to view and enjoy the game in comfort. After all, we have paid to do so.
On another front, and not unexpectedly, both the GCB and the poorly managed WICB have failed miserably. Fans going to the games at Providence do not know exactly the personal items and sizes (such as food baskets, coolers, etc) with which they will be allowed to enter the stadium. The GCB and WICB cannot make that announcement when fans turn up at the stadium on Friday. Such advisories must be made well in advance of the games.
But, then again, this is how our cricket is administered in the West Indies.
Can we expect better? Only time will tell.
Meantime, my hope is that we have excellent weather and fine cricket on both days. Let’s all ‘rally round the West Indies.’ Cricket team, that is. Not the administration.
Yours faithfully,
Mahadeo Panchu
