Arnos Vale falling short of its ground

The growing demands of world cricket are making our beloved Arnos Vale Playing Field and, by extension, St Vincent and the Grenadines, no longer able to fit the bill.

No longer can the adjectives about how picturesque we are, the aesthetics, and all the superlatives which commentators bloat the ground with stand up with any potency when it comes to international cricket matches, especially involving the top nations.{{more}}

Our standings were dealt another telling blow recently when it was announced that both South Africa and Australia will be in the Caribbean next year for a tri-nation One Day International series, also involving the West Indies.

Again, the St Vincent and the Grenadines’ venue was not on the itinerary.

Also, India will be visiting the region to engage the West Indies in four test matches and whilst the allocation of the matches has not been made public, it is highly unlikely that we would be in the mix again.

As has been the case, the territories with large Indian populations, namely Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana, are likely to be given those matches.

Also, those territories with easy access from North America, where many Indians reside, would be given preferences.

What then has happened to our venue, causing it to be relegated to almost last place in the pecking order when matches of some quality are dished out?

After hosting its first One Day International in 1981, the Arnos Vale venue had to wait another 12 years to get another.

However, thereafter we became a first choice for One Dayers, hosting 23 in total.

In addition, St Vincent and the Grenadines has held a proud record for the West Indies, as Arnos Vale is a happy hunting ground, having been the place where they won 18 and lost four.

Our last, in March 2012, ended in an exciting tie with the powerful Australians.

Since then, none have been pencilled in for us, although we were pitied a test match featuring the West Indies and Bangladesh last year. That test match brought St Vincent and the Grenadines’ number of hosted test matches to three, following the said match against Bangladesh in 2009 and the inaugural test back in 1997, when the regional side engaged Sri Lanka.

We have also had two Twenty/20 internationals in between.

It is ironic in the circumstances that St Vincent and the Grenadines was a regular host when the West Indies was still considered a top team.

Today, with the fortunes shifted to the other end of the ladder, Arnos Vale is the prime candidate for the international women’s matches and other matches which other territories do not see as attractive and high billing.

Critical, though, is that many of the other territories have improved their major grounds and have tipped the scale, weighing heavily against us, who are still at the minimal acceptance levels.

Even the expenditure on the main Arnos Vale facility back in 2006, for the staging of warm-up matches ahead of the 2007 Cricket World Cup, has not bettered our position.

With such investments, St Vincent and the Grenadines can no longer be satisfied with the few and far between insignificant matches and the regional four-day fixtures to make the facility viable.

Therefore, a multi-pronged approach then must be the plan of action to see the areas where we have fallen short and make the corrective surgeries where needed.

Sometime ago it was noted that the absence of an instant replay electronic screen was acting against us, especially in the cases of One Day Internationals.

Likewise, there were some concerns about the pitch, which was considered not up to standard.

Are the positions with the two aforementioned factors still the same? Or are there others which have been added to the ingredients over time?

Whatever the causes, they must be addressed soonest, otherwise it might suit us better to look for alternative use of the main cricket venue.

But getting more international matches to come to the Arnos Vale Playing Field should not be the end of it all.

Locally, the facility needs a creative outlook at seeing some returns on the millions spent on its upgrade over nine years ago.

Efforts should be made to have the facility able to finance the daily expenses of its operation.

The way forward cannot rest solely in the hands of a selected few appointed to the board which oversees the facility, as they do not have all the possible solutions.