West Indies three-match One Day International (ODI) Series against the touring Pakistan will get underway next week at the National Stadium, Providence and to much relief of both fans and players some fast-paced pitches are expected to be rolled out for the matches.
Taking shape! A view of the current condition of the National Stadium Providence ahead of the three-match series. (Marceano Narine Photo)
Guyana Times Sport visited the venue on Thursday and spoke to Head Curator Wasim Habib who disclosed that newly laid pitches will be used and they should offer a greater balance between bat and ball.
“Based on the pitches that we are preparing it should be great for One-Day cricket; the outfield is very quick and it will get better by time the game.”
He added, “It is a new soil, a new foundation, this is a one we laid last, hopefully it will be better than the one we used to have, it should be more of a quick pitch and a little more bounce.”
Since the inaugural international game, back in March 2007 when the stadium featured a World Cup match between Sri Lanka and South Africa, the pitch was the topic of much criticism for being too slow and low.
Four of the six pitches located on the square of the cricket field were dug up last year August and a bed of crushed stone and soil from Enterprise Village on the East Coast Demerara was added to make it firmer.
Habid who has been helm of the on-field preparation at the facility for 10 years felt the pitches would be conducive to high scores in keeping with the new norm of most 50-over matches globally.
The pitch we are trying to do is more grass based and we trying to roll it in so spin might not be a factor, we are trying to get a pitch that lasts 100 overs and gives really good and exciting cricket,” the curator explained.
On the aspect of the practice pitches Habib revealed that he will be hard at work in trying to get those pitches to mirror that of the playing surface.
Meanwhile, Assistant Manager of the National Stadium Mahinder Ghansham disclosed that in terms of the logical needs of the facility hosting the matches, they are close to readiness.
“We are about 95% ready, by Tuesday we should be 100% complete. So far the media center, the venue operation center, players’ area and hospitality boxes; all those have been set and tested and are ready.”
He went to say, “We are ready to go to welcome our foreign and locals guests as all systems are in place to host a successful ODI series.”
Ghansham explained that the preparation work is an ongoing one which makes the national stadium most times ready to host international matches.
“With our 15 maintenance staff, we started the power washing aspect since November, every day at the stadium we continue to maintain the facility, the facility is always up and running we are always working, we don’t wait on the last minute to get things going, it is a daily job at the National Stadium to get things up and running when it comes to cricket,” the Assistant Manager disclosed.
In addition, it was explained that as part of the requirements of hosting ODIs, the replay screen will be installed which will add to excitement and comfort.
The Assistant Manager also stated that they will be working with the Guyana Police Force, the Guyana Fire Service and all the other necessary stake holders to ensure patrons’ safety and a smooth flow of traffic to and from the stadium on match days.
The Providence stadium has a capacity of 15,000, making it one of the largest in the region and Ghansham urged persons to buy their tickets as early as possible.
Tickets for the matches cost $4,000 for Red and Green Stands, $3,000 for the Orange and $2,000 for the grass mound. Tickets can be bought at the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) Regent Road Office any day between the hours of 09:00h and 17:00h.
The first ODI is slated for Friday April 7 while the second and third are scheduled for Sunday April 9 and Tuesday April 11 respectively; all matches will be played in the day commencing at 09:30h.
