Manohar: Pass grade for Lara pitch

The heavens opened on Friday ahead of the exhibition T20 match between a Brian Lara Trinidad and Tobago XI and an International XI, but the match was not affected.

Ramsaran, who has been advising on cricket matters at the TTCB, said, “For a pitch that is a month old and all that rain that fell yesterday (Friday), the pitch is absolutely a solid foundation and with preparation it will just get better and better. The outfield was superb yesterday (Friday), the pitch was rock hard still. I think as far as the ground is concerned, the pitch and the outfield, we can really look forward to good things.” The only facility that currently hosts international cricket in Trinidad is the Queen’s Park Oval in St Clair. Ramsaran believes the Brian Lara Academy must improve to host international cricket. Patrons entering and leaving the venue were frustrated, something that has to be addressed says Ramsaran.

“To be quite honest with you there are some things we have to do. Yesterday (Friday) we saw the crowd there, we have some work to do. We need to get the Ministry of Works to construct an exit road. I hope the officers can get together and see what they could do to make it a top class facility.

That must be done before the next big game.” The stadium was approximately 75 per cent full on Friday, a venue with a capacity of 15,000.

Despite Ramsaran being satisfied with the drainage at the facility, and Udecott chairman Noel Garcia saying that Arun Buch, a reputable engineering firm deemed the facility safe, Princes Town MP Barry Padarath is still questioning the safety of the Brian Lara Academy.

In a press release yesterday, Padarath called on the Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs Darryl Smith and Garcia to put in the public domain the fourth and fifth sets of independent tests done on the welds of the stadium which he claimed challenges the findings of the original 2009 Arun Buch and Gerry MacCaferey reports. The reports show that the welds failed two sets of independent tests prior to 2010 as contained in the UFF commission of inquiry report.

Last month at a press conference, Garcia described Padarath’s persistent comments about the safety of the Brian Lara Academy as “reckless and irresponsible.” The Princes Town MP also said the facility may not meet the required standards outlined by the International Cricket Council (ICC) law and additional costs would have to be incurred to meet ICC compliance. Smith recently explained that Government is seeking approval from ICC with the help from the West Indies Cricket Board, a process that should be completed by July.

Separate and apart from meeting the necessary ICC’s approval, Padarath also noted the Brian Lara Academy had no approval from the Princes Town Regional Corporation as required by law.

“The Brian Lara Academy in Tarouba falls under the jurisdiction of the Princes Town Regional Corporation and up to yesterday no application has been made by Udecott or the Sport Company of Trinidad and Tobago for the requisite assessments and approvals to be done,” he claimed.

Padarath indicated he would seek answers through several avenues available to him inside and outside of the Parliament to find out how much the opening ceremony and match cost the people of TT. He said this would now have to be added to the already $1.3 billion spent on the facility that still has engineering questions looming over it.