Tony Becca - ON THE BOUNDARY THE RECENTLY concluded Red Stripe Bowl limited overs cricket tournament was a wonderful success.
According to information coming out of Antigua, although all the Zone B matches were played at one venue the Antigua Recreation Ground, and despite the fear that they would gradually become more and more in favour of bowlers due to the constant use and the difficulty in preparing them for play almost every day, the four pitches on the square stood up well and there was no problem.
In Jamaica, there was a problem re the venues, and after many discussions, the 10 matches in Zone A were played at eight venues across the country.
Unlike previous years when some of the pitches were below standard, but for the one at Port Esquivel which was too slow for limited-overs cricket and a few that were not perfect as far as reliable bounce was concerned, all the pitches were quite good this year with the best of them being those at Sabina Park, Melbourne Oval and Kensington Park.
What made Zone A so wonderful, however, was the support of the fans.
SUPPORT FANTASTIC
With the exception of two or three matches, the support was fantastic and especially so at Alpart Jamaica versus Windward Islands, at Port Esquivel Jamaica against Canada and at Sabina Park when Jamaica played Trinidad and Tobago in the final match.
The problem re the venues had nothing to do with the pitch or the general facilities. With the sponsors and the West Indies Board's marketing committee complaining about poor attendances at matches in Kingston and wanting only one or two matches to be played in the nation's capital, the problem had to do with support.
According to the sponsors and the marketing committee, Kingston people do not watch cricket and as far as they are concerned most of the matches, if not all of them, should be played in rural Jamaica. In fact, it is understood that among the sponsors and the marketing committee were some who did not even want to schedule a match for Sabina Park.
The irony of the situation was not only that there were good crowds at Mona and at Kensington Park but also that the biggest crowd at any match, including the semi-finals and the final, was the one match played at Sabina Park.
BIG MATCH OF ZONE
Maybe the reason for the attendance was because it was the big match of the zone - because it was Jamaica, the home team and the favourites, versus Trinidad and Tobago with Brian Lara.
Whatever the reason, Sabina Park deserved a match. In fact, the final should be played at Sabina Park, and for some obvious reasons.
One reason is that Sabina Park is the headquarters of cricket in Jamaica; another is that it has by far the best facilities in Jamaica - including the pitch.
On top of that, if Sabina Park is to remain a source of pride to Jamaicans, it has to maintain a certain standard, to maintain that standard takes money, some of that money comes from the lease of the boxes at the southern end and northern end of the ground, the box holders were promised cricket for a certain number of days each year, and even when Test matches are played at Sabina Park, they have not been getting their money's worth.
That is unfair to the box holders, and if they give up the boxes, it would be difficult for the Jamaica Cricket Association to play its part in the maintenance of Sabina Park.
In planning for next year, therefore, the West Indies Board, the body that runs cricket in the region, should look at the semi-finals and final of the Red Stripe Bowl and in the interest of the game, they should make some changes.
KAISER SPORTS CLUB
Kaiser Sports Club is not the ARG, and to play three matches in four days there is not good for the contest not only because the final should be played at headquarters but also because of the pitch and spectator support.
One of the semi-finals should be played at Alpart, one should be played at Kaiser, the final should be played at Sabina Park and, apart from the showdown being on centre stage at headquarters, that would guarantee, or should guarantee, a good pitch for both semi-finals, the best pitch and the best facilities for the final, and it would ensure a good crowd at all three matches.
