In an ignominy unbecoming of a king, Sir Viv Richards was embarrassed twice in two weeks as the ICC has decided there will be no more international matches at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua for a year at least.
The ICC’s General Manager for Cricket, Dave Richardson, made a statement, “We have come to the decision that the outfield was, in fact, unfit for play and of an unacceptable standard for international cricket. Appropriate work must now be carried out and monitored by the WICB before the inspection can take place,” an ICC statement read. Such inspection will be conducted no earlier than 12 months from yesterday, the day the ICC informed the WICB of its decision.”
The reason for the ICC’s harsh imposition is the fact that the second Test between England and West Indies had to be abandoned within ten balls of the match after the bowler’s run up was deemed unfit, sand packed and risky.
It meant another Test had to be squeezed in, arranged at the eleventh hour at the ARG (Antigua Recreation Ground) as both teams were willing to have a second go.
In the landmark decision, Pakistan could have faced a similar situation given the placid pitches during Sri Lanka’s tour to Pakistan before terror struck to injure the Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore and throwing all other cricketing matters to the background.
