Game's On! - Wednesday 05, May-2004

by Mike King and Haydn Gill

Brian Lara’s team went through a full work-out yesterday at the 3Ws Oval at the UWI Cave Hill Campus in preparation for battle. Here, Barbadian pacer Tino Best is all power in sending down a delivery in the nets as other team members look on, and (inset) teammates Ridley Jacobs (face down) and Ramnaresh Sarwan go through stretching exercises.


ALL ROADS lead to Kensington Oval this morning – in every sense.

A month after fans left the ground in dismay following a third successive cricket Test defeat of the West Indies by the old foe, England, they are returning with higher expectations.

They anticipate a third straight victory by the Caribbean boys that will give them the consolation of a triumph in the Cable & Wireless One-Day series.

Ticket sales have been booming for what should be a do-or-die match for England, who have been stunned by back-to-back defeats at the picturesque Beausejour ground in St Lucia over the weekend.

The prospects are exciting. More than 80 per cent of the tickets have been snapped up and rain, which has washed out three games, is expected to stay away to allow cricket-thirsty Barbadians a chance to see their last international match of the season.

There may be some interruptions though, as officials of the Meteorological Office predict the weather would be partly cloudy to cloudy at times and windy with some scattered showers, mainly during the morning.

According to West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) marketing manager Darren Millien, every stand has been sold out with the exception of the spanking grand stand. Just under 2 000 seats are left in the stand which can accommodate 4 600.

And local television coverage has moved from a possibility to probability.

“It is hard to say at this stage. It has to get up to 90 per cent for it to be a local broadcast, but things are looking good,” Millien added.

Fans are expected to flock to the Oval in anticipation of another record by mercurial Brian Lara. The West Indies captain needs just 22 runs to surpass Desmond Haynes’ 8 648 runs, the most by a West Indian in the shorter version of the game.

Traffic regulations employed for last month’s Test match will be in force again with no parking allowed within the restricted zone that runs along Fontabelle, Spring Garden Highway, President Kennedy Drive, Upper Westbury Road, Baxter’s Road and Kensington Road.

Compliments of the Nation News

Caribbean Cricket

Sporting islands

BARBADOS