Rain dampens spirit at Red Stripe Mound

There shall be no music on the Red Stripe Mound this weekend. The second one-dayer too has been washed away. And in Kingston there’s pandemonium. While spectators are queuing up for a full refund at Sabina Park, the estimated 2,000 Indian fans who descended here in the past couple of days are attempting to substitute the lost view from the pavilion with photo-shoots with cricketers.

Other, more sober followers of the game are shaking their heads over the packed schedule finalised by the cricket boards. Two back-to-back matches and not a spare day inked in for weather disturbances. It’s a similar story all the way to the end of the tour. The air is thick with informed guesses about the weather in Port of Spain this weekend. It’s raining already, more clouds could be on their way from Guyana scrutinising the skies above could be our lot.

Match referee Mike Proctor made a visit to Sabina Park early in the morning to look at the condition of the ground and decided to call off the game because of huge puddles on the outfield.

“There is just too much rain,” Proctor said. “We have called off the match because there is no way we’ll be able to play on that ground even if the rain stops now.” It rained all through Saturday night and Sunday morning in Kingston. “It’s really sad for all involved, for the fans and the players. We don’t even have a chance to make up for this loss because of the tight schedule. It’s effectively a three-match series now,” Proctor said. The next match is scheduled for Barbados on Wednesday.