NORTH SOUND, Antigua, CMC – Captains Chris Gayle and Graeme Smith have welcomed the return of the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground, as the venue prepared to host its first international match in a year yesterday.
The venue, built for the 2007 Cricket World Cup, was slapped with a one-year ban from the International Cricket Council after the Test between West Indies and England last February was abandoned after 10 balls because of an impaired outfield.
Gayle said his side was looking forward to playing at the venue, named after the West Indies’ most successful captain.
“It is good to see Antigua back on the map. It is a really nice facility here and well-suited for the game,” the Jamaican told reporters.
“The outfield appears to be in good shape and we are looking forward to playing some good cricket out there. You can see a lot of work has gone into getting things ready for the matches and that is good to see.”
Smith said the ground seemed to be in good condition.
“We have been here for a few days and the field looks quite good. It is quite firm and when we went out there we did not have any problems …,” the big opening batsman pointed out.
“We were happy with what we saw. We are ready for the matches and we look forward to what is in store for us.”
The ground was not part of the original tour itinerary but was drafted in after the fixtures were switched from the Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad and Tobago because of that country’s general elections.
Back-to-back Twenty20 Internationals will be played at the ground today and tomorrow before the first of two One-Day Internationals is played there on Saturday.
