Seepage onto pitch rob Guyana possible victory

Mar 10, 2009 Sports

Not a ball bowled at Bourda despite all day sunshine

Carl Moore

Several cricket fans are calling for a serious investigation into what transpired yesterday at Bourda.
With Guyana in a commanding position to post their first win of the season, the final day of their WICB regional four-day cricket match against the Combined Colleges and Campuses (CCC) was abandon without a ball being bowled although on a day which was blessed with sunshine all day.
The match officials called off the game just before tea with CCC on their overnight 67-1 in their second innings needing another 176 runs to avoid an innings defeat.
Two spots on the pitch caused by seepage through the covers from overnight rain left the Guyanese frustrated after they had declared at 497-7 thirty-five minutes after tea on the penultimate day. CCC had made 254 in their first innings.

The inability of the ground staff to get the pitch in a playable condition was surprising since their was uninterrupted action in the first National under-19 female cricket trial match at the DCC ground which is approximately two minutes drive from Bourda.
Guyana, who play the Leeward Islands in their next game at Albion from Friday, moved to 20 points from eight games with the six points they gained from this game and for the first time this season moved from the cellar position.

CCC (who have one match more than the other teams in hand) slipped to two points below Guyana.
Narsingh Deonarine, who scored a career best 198, was named Man-of-the-Match.
A senior Guyana Cricket Board Official yesterday told Kaieteur Sports that the GCB pays for the rental of the ground adding that the preparation and maintenance of the pitch and ground during the match is the responsibility of the ground staff.

“We are disappointed that an entire day of cricket was lost but it would be unfair to cast blame on anyone without having all of the facts. We have spoken to GCC and we understand that an investigation will be done to find out if negligence by the ground-staff contributed to the pitch being damaged and the necessary action taken if required” the official stated.

Manager of the Guyana team Carl Moore said he was disappointed that his team was robbed of the opportunity to press for a win after not doing too well in their previous games this season.
Moore said the team will have a rest today before practicing tomorrow and Thursday and informed that while Guyana is still to win a game after eight matches, he is seeing improvement in the batting.
The Manager is hoping that players like Deonarine, Skipper Travis Dowlin and Royston Crandon (who is back to full fitness after missing the last game) will continue to score runs in the remaining matches and that the others will step up and contribute so that Guyana could finish the competition in the top half of the points table after losing five games outright so far.