– will benefit fast bowlers – Habib

NATIONAL Stadium Manager, Anthony Xavier ,yesterday confirmed that the re-layed international pitches at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence will be ready for the One Day International (ODI) three-match series between West Indies and Pakistan.
Guyana will be the host country for the ODI series, which will be played on April 7, 9 and 11.
“Definitely the four international pitches which were recently re-layed will be ready for the ODI games,” Xavier said.

The management of the Guyana National Stadium, Providence, recently completed a massive overhaul of the four international pitches.

During a recent visit late last year, head curator, Wasim Habib explained that roughly five inches of sand from under the original pitches were replaced with “Crush and Run”, the same material which is used to build roads.

Further, Habib disclosed that the old soil was replaced with eight inches of soil with higher clay content.

This, according to Habib,will definitely assist the faster bowlers, since a livelier track can be expected.

“By changing the foundation of the pitch it will assist the faster bowlers.We have a history of low and slow pitches, so definitely I feel the pitches will be better when completed,” Habib disclosed.

The most pressing cricketing issue, among a host of others in the Caribbean, is pitches, both at the regional and international levels.

For several years, pitches in the West Indies have aided spinners to an unfair and damaging extent, and since its establishment in 2007, the Providence pitches is no different and have come under immense scrutiny.

Meanwhile, the West Indies and Pakistan Cricket Boards have agreed to play three Tests, three One-Day-Internationals and two Twenty20 matches in the Caribbean from Monday, March 27 to Monday, May 15.
The series is scheduled to start in the twin-island of Trinidad and Tobago and end in Dominica.
The Twenty20 matches are scheduled for T&T and the three ODIs in Guyana.The teams will then travel to Jamaica, Barbados and Dominica for each of the Test matches.