Stadium pitch, outfield fail to meet ICC standards
- Guyana situation getting too close for comfort - Dehring
Buddy's Hotel crucial to hosting mega-event
By Sean Devers
& Rawle Welch
Kaieteur News
November 17, 2006
The pitch and outfield of the Providence stadium do not meet ICC standards, and the ICC has urged the Local Organising Committee to accelerate the preparation process.
“The pitch and outfield have a long way to go to meet the ICC standards, and we have made this clear to the Local Organising Committee. However, there is still some time, and we are generally confident that the stadium will be completed by the December 31 deadline,” CWC2007 Venue Development Director Donald Lockerbie said, following yesterday's assessment by the ICC delegation during the second leg of their Venue Tour.
Lockerbie's comments followed an almost four-hour closed-door meeting between the ICC delegation and local stakeholders.
He said that while his team — which included Sports Agronomist Francis Lopez, former West Indies pacer Andy Roberts, and ICC Pitch consultant Andy Atkinson — was pleased with the hard work and commitment shown by the Local Organising Committee (LOC), the pitch and field were among issues discussed extensively yesterday.
Lockerbie stressed that apart from those concerns, a few minor infrastructural adjustments must be made.
He added that “there were no major surprises, and things were going well.”
“The stadium is being finished… and is being finished for a world championship, and this has many more requirements than for one match,” Lockerbie reminded.
Managing Director & CEO of ICC Cricket World Cup West Indies 2007 Inc. Chris Dehring, who was also part of the visiting team, described Guyana 's situation as getting a bit too close for comfort.
“We are in the last five overs of a One-Day International, and every dot-ball makes the required run-rate increase. We have to score faster and finish the match.”
Lockerbie and Dehring's comments followed an almost four-hour closed door meeting between the ICC delegation and local stakeholders.
Dehring reminded that when he had arrived at Providence , two-and-a-half years ago, for their first tour, he had seen a canefield, but the LOC had promised a fantastic stadium.
“A lot of work has to be done in a short time. We are happy with the work of the LOC, but at this point every day counts. Failure is not an option, and we expect the support of every Guyanese. They must see the stadium as a national symbol, and the hosting of a successful World Cup as a national effort,” Dehring emphasised.
Dehring, Lockerbie and Chairman of the LOC, Karan Singh, addressed the media after inspections of the state-of-the-art facility, the two practice venues (Everest and Bourda) and a few local hotels.
Hotels
Dehring informed that he had discussions with President Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday morning and was assured by the Head of State that Buddy's International Hotel, being constructed near the Stadium, would be ready to accommodate the ICC officials for the Guyana leg of the biggest event ever to be staged in the region.
“We have been assessing the growth in the hotel sector in Guyana over the last nine months, and we are pleased,” Dehring observed.
He, however, pointed out that the completion of this hotel is critical to the successful hosting of the event.
“We have contracted the rooms from the Government of Guyana, who has contracted them from the Hotel; so it is imperative that everything is completed,” Dehring concluded.
While Bourda, a test venue since 1930, passed the test as a practice facility, according to the ICC officials, the pitch at Everest needs to be upgraded, since it has too much moisture, while the condition of the pitches and outfield at the Stadium is a major concern.
Lockerbie, whose team visited Barbados on Wednesday, and departed Guyana for Grenada last evening, thanked Singh and the LOC for their committed work so far.
The ICC official added that he was especially impressed with the reception the delegation received from the volunteers here.
This was one of the main highlights of their trip, he said.
Lockerbie hopes other countries can learn from what transpired here among the volunteers.
Although the deadline is the last day of the year, Roberts will travel here on a regular basis, between now and next February, to work along with a high-level team of both foreign and local pitch experts to ensure that the ground is ready for the event. “A lot of the expertise is right here in Guyana . All we need to do is get it all to the Providence Stadium,” Lockerbie stressed.
It is understood that a match in the 2007 regional cricket series is scheduled for the facility, and this could be used to assess the readiness of the venue.
Touching on the issue of security, Lockerbie said he would like to see a Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) programme closer to the venue, because “we don't count security as something we only do on match day, but weeks and months before”.
Guyana will host six Super Eight matches between March 28 and April 9.