The modest crowd at Providence, just over 5, 000, was synonymous with the less than capacity filled stadiums in the rest of the Caribbean, but they bathed in the welcome sun, and in the end enjoyed the tournament’s most gut wrenching finish, even though the gallant Malinga could not muster the final wicket to see his side to victory.

After the game, he said he had no idea that he had made history, and Guyana was happy that it happened at Providence which was enjoying its first international match, and a mega one at that.

That is not to say there were no hiccups. From a toilet overflowing, the air condition units stopped for a while, the turnstiles shutting down because of a slight power failure, to a leaky faucet in the catering area.

However, Xavier said these problems were rectified quickly and that is where the efficiency of the team came in.

“We know there will be those problems, there will be problems, but the important thing is fixing them quickly.”

And just as happened in the Caribbean, where patrons were confused about a few of the dos and don’ts, some spectators refused to heed the warning that they would not be allowed re-entry had to be locked out when they tried to get back in. But those incidents were not pronounced.

Xavier, though saying he doubted he understood the meaning of the word sleep, was a picture of sheer relief as he enjoyed the game from his vantage point below the media centre.

With the first game over, he said the challenge would be in cleaning the stadium and the stands and its outskirts and sanitising the area for the next game tomorrow.

The party mound, where the majority of spectators were, resembled a garbage dump at the end of the game, but within an hour, the green was evident again. The area was completely cleaned!

“It’s a joy, it’s a feeling of real national pride,” Xavier declared. He thanked the ICC CWC for working with the LOC, “giving us the brace”.

Over at the security debriefing, top man assistant Police Commissioner Paul Slowe was heard complimenting the security officers, some 380 in all, for a job well done. But he urged that they not be complacent.

Traffic along the East Bank Demerara flowed, without the expected confusion and the park and walk system worked well, a far cry from the other Super Eight game in Antigua, where spectators literally had to hike to the ground and some disgruntled fans even turned away. The park which can accommodate some 2,500 vehicles is a mere stone’s throw away from the Providence stadium.

Dr. Anthony, who had promised a world class event with no chaos, said the LOC had been vindicated that all systems would work and that Guyana would pull off the games.

Relaxed, he said the efficiency and effectiveness with which all worked was testimony to Guyana’s level of preparedness to host the games. “I am very relaxed because I had all confidence that we would get it right,” he said.

Far from the rumours that ICC CWC had taken control of the stadium, Anthony said the regulation all along was that CWC would be responsible for the stadium on match days, but that such control was in close collaboration with the LOC. He was quick to point out that the chief executive of cricket’s governing body and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. Speed were at the stadium enjoying the Sri Lanka/South Africa game.

At about 14:30h, black dust from burning canes amused some more than it baffled some. Anthony quickly pointed out it was coming from a canefield as afar as LBI, East Coast Demerara and they had not realised it would reach that far.

Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud was quick on his phone and the burning stopped! It was all in making sure nothing disturb the success of the day.

President Jagdeo said it was “great” that everything went well and he was pleased with the cooperation of all involved in pulling off the first match.

However, he said there are five more match days to go and the emphasis should be on getting those right as well.

The Providence stadium, built with a seating capacity of 15,000 is almost sold out for Sunday’s match up between home side West Indies and Sri Lanka.