Despite the Guyana Cricket Board's (GCB) promise of tight security at Sunday's cricket match at Bourda, several persons got into the ground with glass bottles and guns.
There were two fights which involved gunplay and another where a Jamaican was assaulted in the South stand.
One of the two fights occurred at around 11:30 am in the Lance Gibbs stand when a quarrel among beer drinkers got out of control. One man whipped out a gun but he was quickly calmed down by spectators.
This newspaper was also reliably informed that more than five persons were seen with guns while several others were drinking from glass bottles which the board had vowed not to allow in the ground.
The cricket match, which began late because of heavy rainfall, was well supported with thousands of Guyanese turning out. How many of these people got in was also another question since numerous spectators did not wear the wristband attached when being admitted through the gates. One man was seen throwing his wristband over the fence in a plastic bottle for his friend. In many of the stands, people were standing in the aisles.
The most serious incident occurred when a group of Guyanese men assaulted a visiting Jamaican when he reportedly uttered derogatory remarks about Guyanese. According to reports, the man made the derogatory statements without any remorse and went on to laugh and scoff at locals in the South Stand. He was told he was in Guyana by two men who lashed him several times with Heineken bottles on his face. Another whipped out his gun while others joined the chorus for him to be further beaten. Stabroek News was told that the furious Guyanese were eventually appeased and reminded that they were at a cricket match. This newspaper was told that police officers were within walking distance but made no interventions. Contacted on the matter, the police say they did not receive any such reports but investigations are being carried out. They also said they had received no reports of gunplay at the ground.
A well-placed source at the GCB told this newspaper on Monday that while there was no major incident, security was compromised. The source admitted that he was not too pleased with some of the things that played out. He said a review of the security would be done very soon and the findings would be made public.
Chetram Singh, GCB President had told reporters at a press conference that no weapons including firearms and knives or ice picks, metal cans and glass bottles would have been allowed into the ground. He added that before persons entered the ground they would have been scanned with metal detectors. However, Stabroek News observed on Sunday that many persons were allowed into the ground without any scanning.
The police presence inside the ground appeared minimal. A call for the police to come and remove what was a large crowd on top of the GBTI stand, went unheeded for several minutes.
When they did appear it took them a long time to clear the roof which could have collapsed under the weight.
Also at the end of the match a dangerous situation at the entrance to the Clive Lloyd stand could have resulted in serious injuries.
The exit was a small opening in the larger and locked gate.
Spectators coming from the upper stand and those from below converged on the exit and were packed into a small area. At one point a fight broke out on the stairs and a man was lashed on the head with a bottle.
The crowd started to panic and it seemed for a moment that there might have been a stampede.
A police officer outside the ground simply shrugged when told about the situation.