Guyanese curator Wazim Habib will have a first-hand look at how pitches are made in New Zealand, after being named Best Groundsman of the 2018 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL).
Wazim Habib
The National Stadium at Providence has been regarded as one of the best venues among all the venues in the Caribbean in terms of drainage and irrigation. Under the craftsmanship of Habib, the venue has now been transformed from a sluggish 140-score track to a belter that has been producing consistent scores of 170 or more.
The highest total was achieved the other night when the Jamaica Tallawahs and the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots clashed in a spot for Sunday’s final. Batting first, the Tallawahs posted a record score of 191, only to have it overtaken shortly after when the Patriots posted 193 to win the encounter by two wickets. Such scores are a credit to the curator’s dedication to ensuring the pitch has been vastly improved ahead of the tournament.
As his reward, the man from Enterprise, East Coast Demerara, with some 21 years of experience in his craft, will wing out to New Zealand for further training, where he will spend time in Christchurch and Auckland and see first-hand how pitches are prepared from an international perspective.
Habib will spend time with world renowned pitch expert Mark Perham as he looks to further improve his skill and craft as a ground curator.
The Busta Sports Club groundsman has been the head pitch man at Providence for the past four years, and has been instrumental in the works since 2016, when the pitches first underwent rehabilitation.
