Guyana’s only international cricket venue, the Providence National Stadium, was left in a scrubby state after a football competition at the start of the year.
The football tournament, which was a collaborative effort between the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, Guyana Football Federation and the Kashif and Shanghai Organsation was played on December 29 and January 1 among four teams, namely, Linden All Stars, East Coast All Stars, West Side All Stars and Georgetown All Stars.
In the aftermath of the two-day event, the six-pitch square was riddled with holes and gashes presumably from the pegs of the footballers’ boots.
An official of the National Stadium, who wishes not to be named, said that the event, coupled with the rainy season, left the stadium in a sorry state.
“It is in a state. The football has damaged the ground severely. Most importantly, the square is damaged as you saw for yourself,” the source told this newspaper.
The source said the state of the venue could affect the preparations of the national cricket team.
The Guyana Cricket Board (GCB), the source said, has requested the use of the Stadium in order to prepare for February’s Regional Super50 tournament in Antigua and the source reckoned that it will take at least six weeks to have the ground ready.
“It is not just any mud we pick up and throw here, its special mud and special sand we have to put there. It is a lot of hard work. It is a lot of preparation and effort put into making this to the standard we have in the Caribbean,” the source stated.
“The gashes in the pitch do not allow grass to grow properly for one, and when you blow off the dust, it leaves gaps which can give uneven bounce and result in larger cracks…even if you look on the outfield, you will see the unevenness could be dangerous for players as the ball could hit one of these damaged areas and bounce awkwardly into the face of a fielder,” the source stated.
It was only recently that the pitches in the centre of the ground were re-laid, having been commissioned in 2007 for the ICC 50-overs World Cup.
Decision not logical
According to the source, the decision to host the matches at the stadium did not seem logical since there are multiple football venues that could host the event including the GFF Facility across the road from the National Stadium and the National Synthetic Track and Field facility, Leonora, since the event did not allow for spectators.
The stadium is also expected to host the Women’s Regional T20 and 50-over tournaments as well as host Pakistan in three T20Is. The venue last hosted an international match in August, 2019 while in March, 2020 it hosted its last first-class game.
International cricket in jeopardy
The source contends that the damage done to the stadium puts Guyana in a difficult position when it comes to hosting international and regional tournaments since there are usually inspection teams who visit to make sure that the facilities are up to standard.
While Guyana’s chances of hosting regional tournaments have advanced with the inclusion of the La Bonne Intention Cricket Ground, it has become a bidding war to host tournaments with most of the Caribbean Islands developing their facilities.
Stabroek Sport contacted President of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF), Wayne Forde who offered context to what transpired.
According to Forde, Kashif and Shanghai, along with the GFF had approached the ministry with a proposal to host the tournament. Forde noted that Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Charles Ramson Jr., said that he liked the idea and believed that the matches should be televised with playbacks since no in-house attendance was possible due to COVID-19.
Forde said that it was at that stage the possibility of the three host venues were discussed with the National Communications Network, who upon inspection ruled out the Providence Training Centre for lack of facilities to pull off the broadcast while Leonora was ruled out due to the facility only having one angle.
Forde stated that it was common practice in almost all the Caribbean countries to have football played at cricket stadiums since it is only recently separate facilities are being developed to host these matches.
As it relates to the two-day event, Forde noted it was something that has evolved into a tradition and he was happy the event came off as a success.
He maintained that the stadium should give equal access to both football and cricket while expressing the feeling that football has been discriminated against in its use of the stadium which resulted in the sport not being played there for four years.
Nevertheless, Forde reckoned that all parties involved should come together to work out the best way forward which, he suggested, could be the pooling of resources and knowledge in order to still have football at the stadium but restore it to the standard it is needed to have cricket played.
