Guyana, Providence Stadium passed with flying colours
Sportscope Our opinion
Stabroek News
April 10, 2007
Now that the last ball of the Super Eights matches has been bowled at the country's newest cricket venue- the national stadium at Providence it would be fair to say that Guyana and the stadium acquitted themselves well.
For a Third World country to stage the biggest sporting event in its history was not an easy feat and of course there were problems which have been duly highlighted.
But the general consensus of visitors, the international media and the cricketers was that the Providence Stadium is a world class facility.
This point was made by none other than New Zealand skipper Stephen Fleming at the post-match press conference yesterday. When asked his opinion of the stadium the New Zealand skipper replied:" It is a world class facility."
And that it is and Guyanese should be proud that the stadium they supplied to the International Cricket Council (ICC) held its own in comparison with the other stadia in the region.
Kudos should therefore be given to the Government of India and the Indian firm Shapoorji-Pallonji for their assistance.
The pitch at Providence also played its part with Sri Lankan bowler Lasith Malinga becoming the first bowler to take four wickets in four balls at a World Cup match.
Providence was also the venue for the Bangladesh cricket team's upset win over South Africa.
Despite the high prices for tickets Guyanese turned out in large numbers for the matches and surely the ICC must take note when deciding future matches for the region.
There were concerns raised over the transportation arrangements but thankfully there was mostly a free flow of traffic leading up to the stadium although it took a bit longer when returning from the venue.
But now the government will surely need to turn its attention to what will be done with the stadium now that World Cup cricket in Guyana has ended.
Whatever plans they come up with will surely have to take into consideration the high cost of maintaining the facility.
But that is another story. This one is about the hosting of the Super Eight matches of the ICC CWC 2007 World Cup competition in Guyana. And we believe that it was a success.