Oval under water

Hopes of seeing Brian Lara at the wicket for yesterday’s second match in the Cable and Wirless International One-Day series were never fulfilled and the early mood of excitment and national pride quickly degenerated into a bacchanal when some patrons who had imbibed more than the spirit of nationalism that overflowed at the Queen’s Park Oval, began to dive and splash into the water that settled in the outfield, as rain brought an abrupt end to the much anticipated match.

The West Indies had already lost the wickets of Shivnarine Chande-rpaul and Chris Gayle while Ricardo Powell and Ramnaresh Sarwan were batting when the rain came at around midday. Yesterday’s game got off to a late start at 10.35 am because the outfield was still damp from the previous day’s rain. The rain which began slowly, very quickly developed into a heavy downpour that continued for the rest of the afternoon. The crowds had come there early to see their hero, Brian Lara and the excitement was tangible, on a day that began with brilliant sunshine. By ten o’clock the stands were filled. It seemed that just about everyone was there, including a contingent of young Boy Scouts in their bright green shirts.

Red, however was the dominant colour and Trinidad and Toabgo flags of various sizes fluttered  around the field as the sense of national pride soared in the face of Lara’s record breaking achievement. The adoring fans were prepared to cheer for anything as they waited patiently to see the man of the moment at the crease. Not even the early loss of two wickets could daunt their spirits. In fact when Sarwan came out to bat, many people thinking it was the man himself and misled by an announcement from the Trini Posse Stand hailing the “Prince,” stood up in preparation to give Brian Charles Lara, a standing ovation.

And then the rain came. As the music from the Trini Posse Stand beat out as relentlessly as the rain, patrons began to dive as if into a pool, some even aping swimming motions. Other “swimmers” soon followed suit, unimpeded by officials or police. A lone groundsman complete with macintosh tried valiantly to clear the over-exuberant fans off the field, but to no avail. They danced and pranced on the soaked outfield. One group even got together to run a “race” and, as they moved dangerously closer to the covered pitch, one man actually dove onto the tarpaulin that was protecting the pitch.

Finally, after about 15 minutes of abuse to the grounds some police officers braved the rain and made their way across the grounds to remove the offenders. The “cameo” appearance of the police officers however, did little to deter patrons, locals and foreigners alike from continuing to burst onto the flooded field at regular intervals. Even the national flag was dragged into the fray as some men ran a lap around the Oval with it and when a man who seemed to be a foreigner “passed out” on the field, the flag was strewn over him over as if he were dead and then carelessly tossed to the ground. This treatment of the flag seemed to be too much for most of the people in the stands, and they expressed their outrage.  

As the bacchanal continued, the water on the field soon began to turn a muddy brown, streaked with the blue of the paint from the Cable and Wireless sign. Meanwhile, those gathered in the $350 all-inclusive uncovered Trini Posse Stand, danced and “wined” in the rain, their music drowning out even the house announcment at around 12.30 pm that play had been abandoned. With no end in sight to the rain, disappointed fans finally began to leave at about one o’clock, only to be met by flood waters on the streets around the Oval. People removed their shoes as they prepared to wade through the muddy water on St Clair Avenue.

A makeshift ramp was created to allow some people in the KFC/Carib Stand to exit on Elizabeth Street while, some had to be lifted out. From where I sat in the Cyril Duprey Stand, it was hard to imagine that considerable damage was not being done to the grounds by the shameful behaviour of some unruly fans. What began as a day of pride for the people of Trinidad and Tobago turned out to be a terrible day for cricket and true fans of the game.