The Providence heroes!

By Avenash Ramzan

They say that cricket in Guyana and rain are inseparable. There is the belief that once a cricket bat appears, the clouds start to become heavy and dark, hovering like a crow waiting to pounce on its meal.

While the precipitation may come as a huge respite for farmers facing a long drought, it is a phenomenon that cricket fans are wary of.

And it’s a trend that continued over the last two weekends when Guyana Jaguars faced Barbados Pride and Trinidad and Tobago Red Force in the West Indies Cricket Board’s Professional Cricket League Digicel Four-day competition at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence.

The groundstaff were kept busy throughout the eight days of cricket, as well as the days leading up to and between the matches. Under the expert supervision of Head Curator, Wazim Habib, the group of men tasked with ensuring the Stadium outfield was cricket ready, worked overtime in limiting the time players spent off the field.

The excellent drainage system at the country’s premier sport facility was also a major factor in shortening the downtime, but the swift work of the groundstaff was also equally impressive during the Guyana leg of the tournament.

Habib and his support staff must be commended for a magnificent job, one that saw them braving the elements to have the playing surface in conditions acceptable for cricket to be played.

While the likes of Shivnarine Chanderpaul, with back-to-back hundreds, and Veerasammy Permaul, with a total of 13 wickets in the two games, being the top performers for the Guyana Jaguars, the real heroes were undoubtedly the groundstaff.

They could argue that without them, there was no way their two countrymen could have done so well.