Cricket board to probe Bourda security lapses - bogus tickets possibility raised By Donald Duff Stabroek News April 23, 1999 The Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) yesterday said that it would conduct a probe of the security failures which contributed to the invasion of the Bourda ground in the dying stages of a thrilling encounter forcing the match referee to declare the game a tie. Bourda yesterday lay wet and quiet with only a few signs of the melee the previous day during the fifth Cable and Wireless one-day international between Australia and the West Indies. But beneath the quiet lies a host of unanswered questions concerning the crowd encroachment which robbed the West Indies team of a series lead victory and resulted in match referee Raman Subba Row declaring the game a tie and the future of international cricket in Guyana in jeopardy. When Stabroek News visited the world famous sward yesterday a broken down fence in front of the Schoolboys and Rails stand and other signs where unruly spectators forced their way into the ground were grim reminders of one of the most sordid events in recent cricket history. But even as the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) in a press release issued yesterday afternoon sought to accept part responsibility for the debacle, there is evidence that far more serious issues than the running onto the field by a rowdy crowd and the lack of effective action by the security personnel might be at stake. Responsibility "The Guyana Cricket Board sincerely regrets the incidents which prompted the intervention of the Match Referee and brought a most unsavoury end to Wednesday's Fifth Cable and Wireless international," the release stated. The Board added that suitable arrangements had been made for adequate numbers of security personnel and that following incidents at other venues earlier on the tour the security personnel "far exceeded those contracted for previous international matches at Bourda." The Board admitted that weakness in the system outside of the ground led to the overcrowding and said it was conducting an investigation "with its own security committee and with the contracted security officials to determine the cause for the failure of the system." GCC And the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) is to meet sometime next week to review the Guyana leg of the tour. Manager of the GCC, former national player Sydney Seaforth said this was standard procedure where after a tour the GCC usually meets with the GCB. He disclosed that the GCB contracted the GCC prior to the match and has yet to hand the ground back to the GCC. Questioned as to the extent of the damage to the ground's facilities Seaforth said it was difficult at this stage to give an assessment. He however said the GCC spent millions of dollars trying to get the ground in tip top shape for the encounter. Bogus tickets And Seaforth yesterday raised the notion that bogus tickets might also have been responsible for the excess number of spectators who entered the ground. "Someone came to me and showed me two tickets. They looked different....they were kind of discoloured. So I told them take it to the Board and let them examine them, but what came out of that I don't know." And a source yesterday told Stabroek News that there was a possibility that some personnel might have accepted cash to let some spectators in. "There was a lot of spectators outside the ground with money to buy tickets but all the tickets were sold out. People were trying to get into the ground by any means necessary," he said pointing out that the authorities needed to look at increasing the capacity of Bourda since, with international matches so few and far between, at least 20,000 persons should be catered for. He also raised the possibility that tickets may have been recycled but Seaforth rejected the notion stating that the procedure was that the tickets were torn when they were presented to the ticket officials. Seaforth, who criticised the behaviour of the crowd said even when the Police made an appeal for the spectators to come down from the roofs of stands the appeal was ignored and instead the numbers swelled. Gate monitors It was also disclosed that there were gate monitors but a source yesterday said spectators were sometimes able to slip into the venue during exciting moments of the game when the gate personnel were sometimes distracted by the excitement. Holes in system Stabroek News yesterday learnt that there were several holes in the system which resulted in spectators gaining entry into the ground. The Rails and Schoolboys fence, it was disclosed was not sturdy and there was no fence next to the Life members Stand on the Southern side where persons gained entry. During the match several adult persons in the Schoolboys and Rails Stands made their way into Mound Stand `B' and onto the roof of the Stand. Stabroek News also understands that about 70 more persons entered when the gate on Regent Street was pushed down. Police criticised The Police Force has been criticised for not facing the crowd and allowing all the ranks to be bunched up in one location in front of the main pavilion. When contacted for a comment Police Public Relations Officer, Ivelaw Whittaker referred Stabroek News to acting Commissioner of Police Floyd McDonald but McDonald was in a meeting and could not be reached. However a police source, who asked not to be named, told Stabroek News that not all the police ranks were in front of the main pavilion. The source explained that the reason for some of the policemen being in one location was because according to the security plan, the police ranks were required to form a protective box at the end of the match around the Australian and West Indies players and shepherd them into the pavilion. The source said the Police found it difficult to control the crowd. "The whole face of policing has changed," he said. He said efforts were made to remove the 100 spectators from the roof of the Mound Stand but they were only able to get off about 70. "The remaining said `We ain movin'," he recounted adding that short of fighting with them and throwing them off the roof the police were powerless. "With the television cameras on us beaming the action to the world any show of force would have been deemed Police brutality, he declared, adding that the Police had to be careful in dealing with certain situations. "Can you legitimately beat people at a cricket match who have gone there to enjoy themselves," he asked while pointing out that the Police were pelted with bottles during the execution of their duties. Protests Adding to the general confusion which permeated Bourda on Wednesday were three separate street protests. There was a protest for Carl Hooper to be named captain of the match instead of Jimmy Adams, a protest over the three percent wage hike offered by the Government to Public Sector employees and a protest by the committee against Violence against Women. Man-of-the-match The ugly behaviour of the crowd also affected the usual presentation of the man-of-the match award. Chetram Singh, president of the Guyana Cricket Board yesterday said this has been cancelled. "There will be no man-of the match award for that game. However, the performances of the leading contenders in the game will be taken into account for the man-of-the-series award," he disclosed.