ST JOHN’S ANTIGUA – The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) yesterday announced that International Cricket Council (ICC) Pitch Consultant Andy Atkinson will conduct a workshop for Caribbean curators at the end of the month. Each Territorial Board has been asked by the WICB to nominate the curators who will hold responsibilities for the preparation of the Test wickets in their respective territories, with the nominees participating in the workshop which will be held in Guyana and will be fully funded by the WICB.
The two-day training session, which is being hosted by the WICB, will be held on September 26 and 27. Atkinson, who has experience preparing wickets around the globe, will be the lead presenter during what is expected to be a highly interactive engagement.
There have been many calls for some time from all quarters of the Caribbean for the WICB to address the issue of pitch preparation and this workshop was originally scheduled for earlier in the year but was postponed due to Atkinson’s unavailability.
Atkinson worked extensively in the Caribbean during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 and the ICC World Twenty20 2010.
Active Test venues in the Caribbean are: Antigua (Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground), Barbados (Kensington Oval), Dominica (Windsor Park), Grenada (Grenada National Stadium), Guyana (Guyana National Stadium), Jamaica (Sabina Park), St Kitts (Warner Park), St Lucia (Beausejour Stadium), St Vincent (Arnos Vale Sports Complex) and Trinidad (Queen’s Park Oval).
The two other venues where Test cricket was played in the Caribbean are the Antigua Recreation Ground and the Georgetown Cricket Club ground in Guyana.
West Indies commenced playing Test cricket on June 23, 1928, at Lord’s but the first Test match in the Caribbean was played at the Kensington Oval starting on January 11, 1930, and was a drawn encounter in which George Headley (176) and Clifford Roach (122) were the centurions.
Kensington or ‘The Mecca’, as it is widely regarded, hosted the finals of the Cricket World Cup 2007 and the ICC World Twenty20 2010.
Queen’s Park Oval (57) has hosted more Test matches than any other venue in the Caribbean while Windsor Park is the Caribbean’s newest Test venue, having hosted its first Test between West Indies and India earlier this year.
Bourda and the Guyana National Stadium at Providence are the only Test venues on the South American continent, with Bourda being the venue for the first West Indies win in Tests, which was achieved against England in 1930 (February 21 to 26) when Roach scored a double-century in the first innings, Headley scored a century in both innings and Learie Constantine took nine wickets in the match including 5 for 87 in the second innings.