There will be a return to international cricket for the people of Dominica as Windsor Park stadium is being prepared to host New Zealand in the third Colonial Medical Insurance ODI and the first T20I in July this year. Renovation works to the stadium continue following its destruction by Hurricane Maria in September 2017.
Johnny Graves, Chief Executive of Cricket West Indies (CWI)Roland Holder CWI Cricket Operations Manager and Dr. Oba Gulston, Sports, Science and Medicine Manager were in Dominica on February 28, 2020 where they paid a one day site visit and met the Minister of Sports Rosaline Paul and also officials of the Dominica Cricket Association (DCA).
“We toured the Windsor Park Stadium, checked on the medical facilities on the island and the hotels including the new Kempinski Hotel and from our inspection, everything seems to be on track for the hosting of international cricket which is great news,” Graves said.
According to him, CWI have said that since the horrible experience of Hurricane Maria, “we would come back to Dominica as soon as we were all ready”.
“We staged the Hurricane Maria relief at Lords which raised half a million EC which is a drop in the ocean given the enormous rebuilding which had to take place. But we are committed to bringing international cricket back here. However, we have to go into it with our heads up rather than our hearts and make sure that everything is right because the world will be watching,” he said.
He continued, “We will also be back in Dominica in 2021 with Australia and 2022 with Bangladesh so we have to ensure that all the logistics are ready and when we come, it will be a carnival-like atmosphere and a celebration to show the world how Dominica has recovered after the terrible effects of Hurricane Maria.”
Graves added, “It is also a great platform to also show the millions and millions of cricket fans across the world that Dominica tourism is open, that Dominica is open for business and investment…international will be back in Dominica. My heart is 100 percent…everything we have seen, showed and heard suggest that we are on track and so when we meet with New Zealand in March in Dubai, we will be able to tell them that all the logistics are in place for the game”.
Garford Joseph is the manager of Windsor Park Sports Stadium and he is confident that the stadium will be ready for the staging of the games.
“We are in a very good position for the staging of the game versus New Zealand in July. As we speak, I can confirm to you that we have purchased the new scoreboard and [we expect] to have it on island to have it installed by May giving us enough time for its testing,” Joseph stated.
He said the grounds are being upgraded and will be ready; the necessary repairs to the media centre are being undertaken and with about five months to go, preparations are in a good place to have the game staged.
“The scoreboard cost us 1 million dollars and it was discounted since we purchased it from the same supplier that we used in 2017 at a cost of 1.5 million but [it] was damaged by Hurricane Maria. There is no need to panic; we are doing the necessary work which is required and I am very confident that the games as scheduled will take place,” Joseph stated.
Fixture
New Zealand in West Indies 2020
July 8: 1st Colonial Medical Insurance ODI – Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground, Antigua
July 10: 2nd Colonial Medical Insurance ODI – Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground
July 13: 3rd Colonial Medical Insurance ODI – Windsor Park, Dominica
July 15: 1st T20I – Windsor Park
July 18: 2nd T20I – Guyana National Stadium, Guyana
July 19: 3rd T20I – Guyana National Stadium
US$1.5MM in 2017 and US$1MM in 2020 for a scoreboard? I hope it was insured. If not, that is unfortunate. I think this too much money to spend on something that is really used; its utility does not justify the expenditure. I would like to think there is a cheaper scoreboard somewhere.
Keep up….2020 is a washout…. there won’t be no international events in 2020.
Really…? I wonder what planet these guys live on, I really do!
Surely it’s more important to play cricket than to reconstruct schools, we sure have our priority straight.
Jazz festival still on, Cricket coming so things moving in Dominica that is good. BUT wait only us that can not get corona-virus or are we so prepared that let things go on as normal……OR is it that we get so few visitors and that a risk assessment was done saying that we are safe. I really need to know where the government is going with this.
French Open Tennis rescheduled, European football championship cancelled, F1 Motorsport cancelled… but Dominica still plays international cricket in July. Please stop, you all making a laughing stock of the country!!!!!!!
“Medicine Manager were in Dominica on February 28, 2020 where they paid a one day site visit and met the Minister of Sports Rosaline Paul and…”
Everything they said was good news but they messed it up when they said they met with Skerrit’s sports minister Roselyn Paul. Are they referring to Roselyn Paul of Paix Bouche? Really? Roselyn Paul is sports minister? I was born, raised, educated and did everything in Paix Bouche and honestly speaking, I cannot remember Roselyn Paul ever on a rounders, netball, or even hopscotch team or game, let alone cricket, football, dominoe team . All I know of her is a little culture, where the end was not good and a little church. So for Skerrit to make her his sports minister helps me to understand why we only had one Dominica n on the last windwards team and why we cannot see cricket anywhere in Dominica on a Sunday. Trust me, Skerrit is destined to kill sports just as he killed agriculture with his lagony feeble ministers.
CORONA VIRUS might have a different opinion.
In the meantime they can play fantasy cricket with Skerrit as guest of honour to make a propaganda speech and everyone attending getting a glass of rum and a burnt chicken wing. OMG what a fools paradise!