Kensington Pitch 'Post-Mortem'

Embarrassed by the poor nature of the Kensington Oval wicket for the third Test between West Indies and Australia, the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) has admitted the wicket was sub-standard but president Stephen Alleyne isn't about to criticise curator 'Prof' Edwards.

According to a report in the Barbados Nation, Alleyne admits the wicket was not up to snuff and promised to ensure the pitch for next season's Test match against England is of a "high standard."

The newspaper said the BCA "thrown its full confidence behind curator Richard 'Prof' Edwards, who was the subject of harsh criticism in recent debate over the surface.

"It is our view that the pitch which was presented was not up to the standard and quality we would have wanted. There is no point in fudging the issue. We wanted to do better. We weren't able to for a variety of reasons. We are putting in place procedures to make sure we return to the standard and quality that Kensington is known for," Alleyne said.

Alleyne, who is said to be a contender to replace Wes Hall as WICB president, said a "post mortem" was conducted o the pitch and it was concluded that three significant factors led to a sub-standard surface.

"We relaid the Kensington pitch. We felt it was tired and needed rejuvenation, but one of the issues around the relaying was that it probably needed, in the first instance, a bit more rest than we were able to give it," he told the newspaper.

The BCA head said that preparation time for the Test was reduced because the semi-finals and final of the Carib Beer Series were played on the same surface. The newspaper said he also blamed the redirection of resources towards the successful staging of the first-class match at the 3Ws Oval at the Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies.

On the criticism of 'Prof' Edwards, Alleyne said: "I was very saddened to see some of the comments ? almost bordering on invective ? that has been directed at 'Prof' Edwards, who has selflessly and without any reward devoted considerable hours of time to taking care of the pitch at Kensington."

"(He) 'Prof' would be the first to admit that we didn't quite do what we wanted to do. [But] the board, at its meeting earlier this week, expressed its continued full confidence in him," Alleyne added.