Antigua 2nd Test: February 13th |
2nd Test Antigua
|
We flew to Antigua to stay at the Hawksbill Resort with an idyllic setting and as much food as we could eat and as much alcohol as we could drink: endless Chilean quality wines, many delicious cocktails, beers, spirits, including courvoisier brandy by the bottle full. It was a great feeling to go over to the new Sir Vivian Richards Test Ground built with Chinese money, standing in its own surroundings out in the countryside.
What we didn’t know was that the pitch was built on a sandy soil and there were problems underfoot. The design meant that the grass near the main stand never saw direct sunlight, so the grass was set before the stand was built. The heavy lifting gear used to build the stand was placed on the ground and had shattered the drainage pipes beneath, and the planned reconstruction in autumn 2008 found so many problems that the contractors asked for extra time to complete the work. This had been refused by the Antiguan government because the ground was required for a concert at Christmas.
The run-ups to the wicket had been kept in pristine condition for the test and no-one had tried them out before the first ball was bowled. The ICC responsible for checking that the ground was properly prepared only turned up the night before for the duration of the test. It was suspected by all concerned that the pitch would be unfit, but no-one said anything in public.
It was a disaster waiting to happen...