March 30, 2007	Friday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 10, 1428

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ST PETER’S (Antigua), March 29: Brian Lara may have been delighted by the ‘batting paradise’ provided by the pitch at the recently-built Sir Vivian Richards Stadium. But the lack of spectators for its first major match, the Super Eights clash between hosts West Indies and World Cup holders Australia, left him feeling “very disappointed”.

In a match spread over two days because of rain, West Indies went down to a crushing 103-run defeat here on Wednesday.

What made it worse was that so few people witnessed live what should have been one of the showpiece fixtures of the tournament.

In a ground with a capacity of 19,000, only 9,000 turned up on Tuesday after 11,100 tickets had been sold in advance, with between 500 and 700 purchased on the day, according to official figures.

And the venue was barely a third full on Wednesday.

While attendances for many 'neutral' matches throughout the tournament so far have been low, the fact so few people showed up to see the West Indies was a particular concern to the hosts' captain.

“It was very disappointing,” said Lara.

“You sit back and you think at least every single game the West Indies play is going to be a full house.

“I don't know what to put my finger on as the problem but again we've just got to focus on the cricket and hopefully the people will come out.”

Cricket World Cup commercial director Stephen Price said it was too soon to say why the Antigua public hadn't turned up on Tuesday, which had been declared a public holiday on the island in honour of the stadium's first major match.

“Any suggestion at the moment would be purely speculative,” he told said on Wednesday.

“Maybe it was because the weather on Tuesday wasn't good and that the West Indies weren't batting.

“But the money from the people who haven't turned up will be banked and used for the future of cricket in Antigua.”

And he rejected suggestions that with tickets for the Windies-Australia clash ranging from US$25 to $100, that local fans were priced out of the market.

“I really disagree with that. This was a collaborative process across the region and all the local organising committees had an input.

“Tickets are definitely not out of reach. There are plenty of lower category seats available.”

Lara, who set the world record Test score of 400 not out at the old Antigua Recreation Ground in St John’s, said the new ground was worthy of being named after Richards, one of West Indies' greatest batsmen.

“This is beautiful. It's a batting paradise as far as I am concerned. But it's also a very good stadium and it goes with the man, Sir Vivian Richards.

“We had wonderful times at the ARG but now we move on to the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium and this is something we will be proud of over the years.”—AFP