WINNERS: Trinidad and Tobago, who played unbeaten throughout the KFC limited-overs tournament, posed with their first prize cheque of US$10 000. (Pictures by Brooks LaTouche Photography.)

by HAYDN GILL

SEVERAL LESSONS would have been learnt from the KFC Cup Final Four at the renovated Arnos Vale Sports Complex in St Vincent.

The most significant revelation was that the transformed facility is running behind schedule with its preparations for Cricket World Cup 2007.

It provided evidence that the pitches are not up to scratch and need further work in the coming weeks.

Tests for match-day operations proved inconclusive because of a modest turnout.

The three matches would also have told regional authorities not to schedule further regional semi-finals and finals in St Vincent in the immediate future because of a virtual no-show by spectators.

Off target

When completed, Arnos Vale promises to be a world-class facility, but in its present state, it appears to be facing a race against the clock to be fully ready for their four World Cup warm-up matches from March 5 to 9.

The new Double Decker stand that will house 5 000 fans is still to be completed, as well as a four-tier media centre.

More significantly, the outskirts of the stands remain in a mess after Monday's deadline to hand over the ground to the International Cricket Council.

The unpaved sections, together with plenty of dust, sand, gravel and the like, make for untidy surroundings to which visitors to the region should not be subjected.

While the periphery is a cause of concern, the outfield is in immaculate condition.

The three pitches served up for the semi-finals and final were not up to the mark.

At the start of each match, the surfaces were not altogether firm and offered generous bounce and sideways movement. Teams winning the toss had no hesitation in asking the opponents to bat first and successive first innings totals of 114, 155 and 210 emphasised the struggle for batsmen.

If the surfaces for the World Cup warm-up matches are similar, there are certain to be complaints from Australia, England, Zimbabwe and Bermuda.

It is mind-boggling why Vincentians would not have turned up at Arnos Vale to support the region's premier limited-overs competition.

You would figure that the novelty of the renovated sports complex would have been enough to bring out big crowds.

Why would a final which involves hosts Windward Islands on a Saturday produce fewer than 2 000 spectators?

The turnouts for the semi-finals on Thursday and Friday were appalling with no more than 500 fans in the ground on both days.

Vincentians have always supported One-Day Internationals, but it is clear that regional cricket is not their cup of tea.

With modest numbers, it was somewhat a waste of time to test out World Cup match-day scenarios like park-and-ride and security arrangements.

Even so, there was some level of confusion and things didn't go smoothly.