At a glance
- A domestic match in the West Indies
- Previous issues with outfield
- Cricket West Indies – “unpredictable and uneven behaviour“
Officials abandoned a domestic match in Antigua after a length ball reared and hit a batter on the helmet, bringing the Leeward Islands vs. Trinidad and Tobago game at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium to a premature end. Play halted with the Leeward Islands at 140–7 and holding a narrow lead at the time.
A statement made by Cricket West Indies said:
“Following discussions with the curator, it was determined that the pitch could not be safely repaired without creating an unfair advantage, and was therefore deemed unfit to resume, resulting in the match being abandoned as a draw.”
The statement added that the playing surface was ‘unpredictable and uneven behaviour, raising serious concerns for player safety.’
What happened?
The incident happened when Jayden Seales was bowling to Jeremiah Louis. Seales already had taken the seven wickets to fall. He bowled a good length ball, which reared up and hit Louis on the helmet.
Louis fell to the floor before removing his helmet, and beating the ground in frustration. He then kicked his helmet in the direction of the short-leg fielder, and walked off the field. Jeremiah Louis was taken to hospital as a precaution and is reported to be a stable condition.
You can see the video here:
Previous history of issues
This isn’t the first time a match has had to be abandoned at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium. The ground’s second ever Test match against England in February 2009 had to be abandoned after only 10 balls, due to the outfield’s dangerous condition.
The groundstaff had to apply extra layers of sand, due to the heavy rain prior to the match, and again after a brief shower on the first day. This caused West Indian bowlers Fidel Edwards and Jerome Taylor being unable to run in and bowl.
The ICC subsequently suspended the ground from hosting any international matches for twelve months and issued an official warning to the WICB following the abandonment.
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