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Rained off

The phenomenon of a wash-out due to incessant rain is something we expect in England but not in Grenada a country in the throes of a drought.

The National Stadium has no floodlights, unlike the football stadium next door, so by 2.00 pm (6pm British time) it was clear that no match would be possible and we left. The stadium is an unattractive soulless place, like a new Championship football ground, all concrete and concourse and no character.

The West Indies Board has long suffered from no local take-up of tickets and the unfair decision that the host side receives all the takings, depriving the board of the lucrative revenue of away tests in England. So, as it’s mainly tourists who go, they switched the venues to islands they like to visit – hence the ODIs are played in Barbados, Grenada and St Lucia and the tests in Barbados and Antigua.

Grenada has no cricketing tradition at test level, our taxi driver could not name one who represented the West Indies. He felt more upbeat about the team itself with natural stroke-makers like Hetmeyr (aged 22) but they are ranked 9th in the world and simply do not have the resources nor structure of England, Australia and India.

Nor is it helped that Chris Gayle, essentially now an overweight slogger who won’t run between the wickets, prefers the riches of the white ball game.

Get yourself a agent to tout yourself around the white ball teams and franchises. Find one in the IPL and you’re set up for life.

Like the rest of the party I’m enjoying the hotel and the friendliness of the locals. We did experience our first “Well, it is is the Caribbean” moment when the hotel shuttle to the ground, already cutting it fine with departure 45 minutes before the start, was held up as they had not yet prepared the picnics for guests. On board though it was enjoyable to engage in cricket chat though sadly we had no one to watch.

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About Douglas Heath

Douglas Heath began his lifelong love affair with cricket as an 8 year-old schoolboy playing OWZAT? Whilst listening to a 160s Ashes series on the radio. He later became half-decent at doing John Arlott impressions and is a member of Middlesex County Cricket Club. He holds no truck at all with the T20 version on the game. More Posts