Call for indoor nets at Oval

FORMER Barbados and England Test cricketer Roland Butcher will be making an even bigger push for an indoor facility to be erected at Kensington Oval if he is elected on the Barbados Cricket Association’s (BCA) Board of Management at next week’s 11th Special Meeting of Members.
The meeting is set for the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre on Wednesday, and Butcher, who is chairman of the Everton Weekes Centre of Excellence, said he would be able to achieve a lot more if he were a member of the board.
“The various Barbados national teams have done reasonably well in the regional tournaments, but the lack of an indoor cricket facility has certainly prevented our players from developing at a faster rate,” Butcher told WEEKEND SPORT.
“At the moment, each of the Barbados teams practise once a week at Kensington Oval, with the exception of the national senior team which trains and practises five mornings a week.
“By not having an indoor cricket centre, we have to hope for good weather each day in order for the teams to practise. Also, even with good weather, all practice comes to an end around 6 p.m. when it gets dark. With an indoor centre, the teams would be able to train well into the night and also more than one day a week.”
There is only one indoor cricket facility – at the 3Ws Oval, University of West Indies, Cave Hill Campus where Butcher is the director of sport.
“As chairman, I have highlighted and requested the BCA Board of Management move quickly to having the indoor centre to support the work of the Everton Weekes Centre of Excellence.
He charged that Kensington Oval was one of the few venues for Test cricket that does not have an indoor facility.
“A number of board members can see the wisdom of the indoor centre, but also some board members have been blocking the proposal,” he claimed.
“I firmly believe that if I was a member of the Board of Management of the BCA, that I would be in a better position to influence the building of this much needed indoor facility.
“Until this facility is built, our teams will continue to perform in the inconsistent way they have been performing,” Butcher said.