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BRIDGETOWN, March 26: Guide to the four venues being used for the World Cup Super Eights which start on Tuesday:
Status: A brand new stadium.
Investment: US$21 million.
Capacity: 20,000 of which 10,000 will be permanent.
It's fitting that Antigua's stadium for the World Cup has been named after the island's most famous player, Sir Vivian Richards.
Constructed with assistance from the Chinese Government, the brand new stadium replaces the Antigua Recreation Ground (ARG) as the island's major cricket venue.
Located four miles outside of the capital St John's, the stadium will host six Super Eight matches.
The stadium will feature two main stands at the northern and southern ends, and temporary seating on the eastern and western embankments will increase the capacity.
Tale of the Track: Unknown, but the host board hopes it offers much more than the ARG which was a notorious featherbed, and saw Brian Lara twice break the world record for the highest individual score in Tests.
Status: Reconstruction.
Investment: US$67.5 million.
Capacity: 30,000 of which 15,000 will be permanent.
Affectionately described as ‘the Mecca of Caribbean cricket’, Kensington Oval is steeped in history, and it was the venue for the first Test in the Caribbean.
The ground will host six Super Eight matches and the final on April 28.
Only two buildings – the Mitchie Hewitt Stand and the Wes Hall and Charlie Griffith Stand – remain from the old facility, and they have both been enhanced with improved seating and sightlines.
A statue of Sir Garfield Sobers now forms the focal point of the exterior, and the ground has been given a comprehensive facelift to meet international standards, with upgrades undertaken to provide additional seats, as well as improved player, media, and sponsor facilities.
Tale of the Track: Unknown, since the pitches had to be shifted 20 metres north east to accommodate the expansion, but a few warm-up matches between local club sides were held to test the surface and it played true.
Status: Refurbished.
Investment: US$40 million.
Capacity: 17,000 of which 13,000 will be permanent.
Originally constructed in 1998, the Queen's Park Stadium was destroyed six years later by the ravages of Hurricane Ivan, one of the most destructive weather systems in Caribbean history.
The stadium, located on the National Stadium complex, has been rebuilt with the assistance of the Chinese government and boasts of VIP suites and boxes, improved player facilities, an electronic scoreboard, and a state-of-the-art public address system.
The old Queen's Park had hosted a One-day International in 1983, but the refurbished ground became the 84th Test venue when West Indies played New Zealand there five years ago, and also hosted eight ODIs before its devastation.
Located on the outskirts of the capital of the Spice Isle, it will host six Super Eight matches.
Tale of the Track: Easy-paced with predictable bounce.
Status: New.
Investment: US$25 million.
Capacity: 15,000.
Constructed with assistance from the Indian Government, the Providence Stadium replaces the historic Bourda Oval as the country's major cricket venue and is located about 10 minutes drive outside of the capital of Georgetown.
It was an easy decision for local authorities to choose to build a new venue for the only country on mainland South America where the game is probably more popular than football.
Bourda had become an eyesore and suffered from inadequate drainage that often made a mockery of the 30 Tests and 11 One-day Internationals hosted there whenever the notorious equatorial weather took control.
The Providence Stadium, however, has been dogged by problems with the result that the local organising committee was relieved of control of the project by the World Cup organisers at the weekend.
The Providence Stadium will host six Super Eight matches.
Tale of the Track: Unknown, but the host board hopes it offers much more than Bourda which was notoriously easy-paced.—AFP
