ICC BANS ANTIGUA”S RICHARDS STADIUM The International Cricket Council (ICC) has ruled that no international cricket should be played at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua, West Indies, for at least a year. The move follows the abandonment of the Test between West Indies and England at the Antigua venue on February 13. The match was called off after only 10 balls because of an unfit outfield. The ICC on Monday said in a statement the ground would not be used again until extensive remedial work was carried out and it passed an inspection from the governing body. The West Indies Cricket Board has also been given an official warning by the ICC for “not preparing the ground effectively for the match”but has not been fined. ICC general manager cricket David Richardson said: “We have come to the decision that the outfield was unfit for play and of an unacceptable standard for international cricket. “The abandoned Test match was an embarrassment to the local authorities in Antigua, to West Indies cricket in general and to the international game as a whole. The image of the game and the integrity of our sport cannot afford to have such farcical scenes play out as they did on the first morning of the match. Steps must be taken to ensure that it never happens again.”The stadium was opened in February 2007 for the World Cup, where it hosted six one-day internationals. It staged only one Test before the abandoned game – between West Indies and Australia in 2008. With 1.4 overs of play, last month’s abandoned game was recorded as the shortest Test match in history. The five-Test series – which included a replacement Test at the old Antigua Recreation Ground – was won 1-0 by West Indies. Now the tour switches to the five-match Digicel One-Day Series and star batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan says he will be looking for more big scores. The series starts on Sunday in his homeland Guyana at the spectacular National Stadium at Providence. “I am always excited to play at home. The crowd has always been supportive and it is just a matter of going out and playing positive cricket. We have been fine and we want to maintain the momentum coming off of the Test series win and the victory in the Twenty20,”he said. “We are happy for the support we have been getting and we want the fans in Guyana to come out and support us.”
