Montserrat ground 'not good enough' for FC cricket
The Salem Park cricket ground in Montserrat has been given unfavourable feedback by some of those involved in the rain-ruined Carib Beer Series match between Barbados and Leeward Islands, according to a Haydn Gill report in the Barbados Nation.The small ground in the central part of Montserrat was staging only its third first-class match but it was spoilt by the loss of two days and two sessions because of faulty covers that left areas at the edge of the square soft and muddy for three successive days. The pitch was a dream for batting and batsmen were also able to cash in on very short boundaries, especially the straight boundaries, Gill reported.
Among those who felt the ground was not up to mark for a match at this level were Barbados coach Vasbert Drakes, along with opposing captains Dwayne Smith of Barbados and Runako Morton of the Leewards.
"As much as you want to spread the cricket around the Caribbean and give a place like Montserrat an opportunity to see some of the stars, you still have to take into consideration that you need to play in adequate conditions and the environment needs to be conducive to cricket," Drakes said after the match on Monday.
"That was the most disappointing factor. You couldn't control the rain, but the facilities and the actual covers themselves are not good enough for first-class cricket."
With very short boundaries, batsmen enjoyed themselves and the 138.4 overs of the match produced a staggering 67 fours and 28 sixes.
It meant that 436 runs came in boundaries in a match in which the scoring rate throughout was 5.16 runs an over, with Leewards scoring 295 in 75.4 overs and Barbados responding with 421 for seven in 63 overs.
"You can't blame the local cricket board, but the West Indies Cricket Board has to be on the ball. You have to do your homework," Drakes said.
"On grounds like these, you lure batsmen into a fall sense of security. Too many sixes were being hit.
"One of my concerns [with] Caribbean batsmen is that they stop the ball and then hit the ball for six. At the end of the day, they score runs, but ... you want to know how much the batsmen are growing. It's difficult to judge where you're at on this small outfield."
For future matches in Montserrat, the intention is to move to a bigger ground in the north, Little Bay, where the two teams practised in the build-up to this match.
At the moment, however, Little Bay lacks the infrastructure that is needed for first-class cricket, leaving officialsto settle for Salem Park which also did not impress Morton.
"I don't think the facilities were up to first-class standard. The covers were not good," Morton said.
"It was not good for us as cricketers to come and play under these conditions where you can't really focus on what you want to do. Hopefully, the authorities will look into these kinds of situations."
Smith held a similar view. "It's a good wicket, but I don't think the ground is up to first-class standard," he said. "It is too small.
"What can you do? You have just got to use what you have."