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Providence taking shape for ODIs ‘Pitch should be a 250 track’- Regional Curator Crafton
The New Providence pitch should have pace and bounce and be good for batting. (Photos by Sean Devers)
By Sean Devers
The Guyana National Stadium at Providence was a hive of activity yesterday as preparations intensified for the three-match ODI series between Pakistan and West Indies which commences tomorrow morning at 09:30 hrs.
In sweltering heat both teams did fitness drills, last minute repair work was being done on the stands, the camera crews were setting up their positions, the sponsors’ logo was being painted on the ground, which was being watered and Cricket Board officials were trying to ensure everything was in place for the successful hosting of the Pakistanis in Guyana for the first time in four years.
But most of the attention of the players and officials was focused on the ‘new pitches’ to be used for the first time tomorrow, Sunday and Tuesday.
The Square accommodates six pitches but only the four in the middle were relayed. Two of them were shaved but still had a fair amount of grass left on them. They felt harder than the ones that were previously used and appeared lighter in colour.
“Because of the short time and the rainy weather we could not have any games played on it before this one (ODI tomorrow). The Guyana team which went to the regional Super50 practiced on the pitch but because of the rain it had a lot of moisture and we could not judge accurately how much pace it had,” informed Wazim Habib, the head Curator at Providence.
St. Lucian Kent Crafton, who has been Regional Curator for three years now, is in Guyana for one week to supervise preparation and he feels the pitch for the first ODI looks like a ‘250 pitch’ for a team’s total, a score Habib agrees with.
Habib and fellow Guyanese Devendra Shivprasad attended a Curators Workshop in Antigua last September hosted by ICC pitch Consultant Andy Atkinson just after the Providence pitches were dug up, the sand removed and replaced with a material used to build the foundation of roads and earth from the Enterprise Ground on the East Coast of Demerara.
“You can tell the difference in the texture, feel, compaction level …and it is harder and should be faster with more bounce which will make it better for batting. It has never been used before so the Square it is about 75% done,” said Crafton, who leaves here on Sunday.
“Yes I am satisfied with what I have seen from what we had to what we have here now. The weather has been kind to us over the few days and need the sun to bake it. It is still a work in progress but I expect the pitch to have pace and bounce,” Crafton said.
While ticket sales have been generally slow, Sunday’s game is almost sold out. Tickets can be bought at the GCB office and the Stadium on match days.
The cost for any stand is $4,000 and $2,000 for anyone under-12 years, but Children’s tickets must be purchased at the same time adult tickets are bought. Tickets for the Mound are $2,000 each, while senior Citizens (over 60) will not have to pay for their ticket but must provide an ID card to collect it at the GCB office on Regent Street.
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