For some unknown reason, the people of the region has never been explained why the best cricket ground in the Caribbean, the Queen's Park Oval in St Clair, Port-of-Spain, is not getting the benefit of having at least one Test match every series.
Maybe the Caribbean public has forgotten that in a five-Test series in the Caribbean, the Queen's Park Oval was given two out of the five.
In the recent past, the pendulum has swung and the concept seems to have been to expand the number of Test match stadiums at our neighbouring friends in order to increase the tourism trade, taking into consideration that these islands were filled with lovely beaches and other entertaining activity.
It has often been said that because the Oval were asked to pay a daily fee per Test match which could run anything like $150,000. The bidding went to the other islands, all of which were owned by the respective governments and were allowed free use to the Cricket West Indies (CWI).
Have the representatives of these grounds ever tried to consider the quality of preparation of each venue, the vast gate receipts which the board collected and the ideal location of the Oval in the midst of the Capital city, with five star hotels in walking distances, restaurants, excellent shopping nearby, and still can accommodate tourists to the beaches a distance away.
Finally, in the past, the experts of the great game were able to judge the variety of playing surfaces some of which would accommodate an equal chance. Another offers the fast bowler some bounce and swing, while the feather-bed of Bourda in Guyana was a gem for the batters.
The Queen's Park Oval was the most adventurous of all, where there was a bit of everything and also allowed the batsmen an opportunity to benefit from their technical ability.
Yes, we would like to have treated our tourists enjoyed the beaches together with the Test matches. However, our cricketers in days gone by did not need any surroundings in order to satisfy their touristic holiday.
The commodity of a Test match was the absolutely wonderful quality of every player on the field. There were times when at 5 am on the first day of a Test match demanded hundreds of fans lining up to enter the Oval to witness the first ball.
Every day was the same because of the entertainment which our Garfield Sobers, Frank Worrell, Everton Weekes, Lawrence Rowe, Vivian Richards, Curtly Ambrose, Malcolm Marshall, Courtney Walsh, Rohan Kanhai, Joe Solomon, Andy Roberts, plus many other brought maximum joy to the fans.
They did not need the promise of a beach, neither have they deprived the other forms of entertainment in various venues around the city. That was the difference. If you want good gates CWI, then get coaches to improve the quality of our cricketers. I mention coaches because we all recognise the potential of our players but the final touches are absent and we are waiting too long.
Our fans still support the Twenty20 (T20) stuff but they would hardly support these items without music, dancing girls and cups filled with our tastiest brew. Bye.
