Race against time …Rain dampens JCA ahead of one-day tourney
TIME was never on its side ever since it was announced that Jamaica would host the 2010 edition of the President’s Cup, starting on October 14.
It has been a month now since Jamaica was awarded the right to host the 37th regional one-day event, but persistent torrential rains from Tropical Storm Nicole, lasting the whole of last week, have put a major damper on the state of readiness for the organisers.
“It’s a big setback and the impact is negative. However, as soon as an opportunity presents itself, we’ll try redoubling our efforts to get back on track because the resources remain the same,” lamented Courtney Francis, chief cricket operating officer at the Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA).
“The WICB (West Indies Cricket Board) has committed a certain amount of funds and we’ll have to work within the confines of that budget to ensure we get the venues as tournament-ready as possible,” Francis added.
Flood rains from the storm triggered widespread flooding across the entire island, bringing almost everything to a halt. Several road networks were cut off, leaving many communities and residents marooned.
The impact is immense. With precious time and man-hours lost, the organisers have their work cut out particularly in getting the pitches at the three match venues — Sabina Park, Chedwin Park and the Trelawny Multipurpose Stadium — ready.
Francis is confident Sabina Park and Chedwin Park will be ready as they’re frequently in use, but has reservations about Trelawny and the practice venues.
“With regard to the match venues, we want to complete preparing the entire square early. Sabina Park is five pitches, Chedwin Park is three and Trelawny is four.
“The practice venues are two pitches each. Now the challenge we are having with those, because of the heavy rain, it is likely that we will have to wait until the pitch is fully dried out before start cutting the field. So that too has its own challenge,” he said.
Kensington Park, Police Sports Club and Melbourne Oval will serve as practice venues.
“The concern with pitches I have is Trelawny. But I’m confident that they will be ready. They (the pitches) may be on the slower side if we don’t get enough sunshine,” he admits, before directing the Sunday Observer to his deputy O’neil Cruickshank, who is in charge of getting the Trelawny Stadium up to scratch.
When contacted, Cruickshank quickly made the point that the square at Trelawny had a major problem before the rains came. He, however, noted the rains have been a blessing.
“The pitch in Trelawny had suffered some damage in terms of sand getting on the pitches, and that, I gather, was suffered due to a football game being played there,” he said.
“But as soon as we decided on Trelawny, a programme was put in place that I’m overseeing (along with Trelawny Cricket Association), in terms of what needs to be done leading up to the game. And they’re sticking to that.
“It is true that the rains have caused us not to put in some amount of work. The rain is good in terms of the outfield badly needing some water. The pitch is covered, so it doesn’t have more intake of water than it should. So we’re just hoping that the rains would now abate so we can get back on track with the preparation programme,” he added.
Rain is also being forecast for the coming days, which could hamper further any progress that the JCA hopes to make before the teams start arriving on October 12.
However, Cruickshank is positive though things will be in place by the time the players are ready to take the field.
“While I can’t say when the day comes what the pitch will play like, what we’re doing is giving every opportunity to put out a good surface that is going to be fair enough to the players and spectators in terms of a good cricket match.
“And that’s the best that we can hope to do on any surface, whether it’s Trelawny, Chedwin or Sabina Park. But we’re confident that we can put it in shape in time for the competition,” he said. Weather permitting, of course.