Rain washes out play

In spite of the top-notch drainage and new covers imported by the Barbados Cricket Association, steady mid-morning and afternoon rain prevented cricket from being played at Kensington Oval yesterday.  

It rained continuously for most of the day, and it was no surprise when the umpires officially called off play at 3:15 p.m., as the patchy and ugly looking outfield at “The Mecca” with dry, grassless spots and sand sprinkled almost everywhere was in no condition to host first-class cricket.

Hence, the Windward Islands Volcanoes never got a chance to resume from their overnight score of 241 for six in reply to Barbados Pride’s first innings total of 316 on the third day of the eighth round Regional 4-Day encounter.

Despite the intermittent rain, there had been a real possibility of play in the pre-lunch session after the covers were removed.

This wasn’t to be as the umpires, noticing some damp spots just away from the pitch while making their initial inspection, scheduled another inspection for 11:35 a.m.

The players from both teams were already on the field in their warm-up kit with the Pride players engaging in a game of hand ball, but light rain around 11 a.m. forced them to seek shelter inside the Garfield Sobers Pavilion.

With the steady drizzle becoming heavier after lunch was taken, the day’s play was officially called off at 3:15 p.m., following another inspection by the umpires.

By then, it was noticeable that water had started to settle in a number of dry areas just away from the covered square on the generally patchy outfield.

Play is now scheduled to start half-hour earlier at 9:30 a.m. today with an allotment of 98 overs.  (EZS)