SVGCA Inc president slams regional cricket pitches

There was no mincing of words when president of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Cricket Association Inc’s (SVGCA) president Dr Kishore Shallow assessed the pitches used in the regional first class cricket competitions.

Shallow took a dim view of the standards, when the matter of pitches was discussed at the association’s last annual general meeting.

Addressing the issue of thr state of pitches here in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), Shallow ventured to say, “We probably have one good pitch in the region right now and this is in St Lucia.”

Not sparing his sentiments for this country’s premier sporting facility, Shallow said: “We need to address the issue of pitches and grounds in the country generally… All of our grounds, including Arnos Vale, the pitch needs attention…I am very disappointed with the pitch here at Arnos Vale … It has deteriorated over the years and we need to address it as well.”

Shallow, who is a director of Cricket West Indies, believes that the issue of better pitches has to be addressed holistically across the region.

“What I am championing is for it to start from the regional level right down and give us some funding to assist, so we won’t slip out of proper guidance,” Shallow opined.

The SVGCA Inc president’s view prefaced a similar condemnation made by former West Indies fast bowler, the legendary Sir Curtly Ambrose.

Commenting on the West Indies’ poor showing on their recent tour to New Zealand, Ambrose apportioned blame for the regional players’ inability to play the short ball, on the state of the pitches in the region.

Ambrose was reported as saying: “The pitches in the Caribbean are terrible, and that’s why when we go overseas and the pitches are bouncing, the players are all at sea… We need to get back quick, bouncy pitches in the Caribbean.

“We need to get back to the days when we were the best team in the world, where we had good cricket pitches, where there is a little bit in it for the fast- bowlers, a bit for the spinners and if you’re a good enough batsman, you can score runs,” Ambrose added.

The observations of both Shallow and Ambrose follow the convening of a workshop for the head groundsmen in Antigua and Barbuda.

St Vincent and the Grenadines was represented at that workshop by William “Bill “Edwards, head groundsman of the National Sports Council.(RT)