PICKWICK’s ground staff made a desperate last-ditch effort yesterday to get their Foursquare Oval ready for today’s 10 a.m. start of the first Barbados cricket trial in preparation for the February 3 beginning of the 2012 regional first-class season.
After only learning on Thursday that the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) would be staging the three-day national trial match, officials had to rush to get the outfield cut, pitch rolled and grass raked up.
But the groundsmen on hand when the NATION team visited the St Philip venue gave it their all.
A heavy shower around 11 a.m. did not help their cause as they tried valiantly to cover the pitch with the heavy tarpaulin.
Only last month the Pickwick Club, which has hosted a couple of first-class matches, was criticized for a heavily-grassed outfield when it hosted the Barbados Cricket League Knockout Final between Rangers and Cupid Cavaliers.
After mention was made in yesterday’s WEEKEND NATION that no specialist wicketkeepers were chosen in either of the two teams for the trial match, a check with the BCA website yesterday revealed two changes to the original teams.
Mario Rampersaud was added to Shamarh Brooks’ team, while Renaldo Arthur’s name was inserted in the other side, to be captained by Kenroy Williams.
While such short-sightedness cannot be condoned, the selectors have interestingly chosen a player each from Upper Intermediate teams MTW (Kevin Gittens) and Yorkshire (Glendon Dash).
The scores produced by Dash, a little-known right-handed batsman, last season were not much to shout about.
After being dismissed cheaply in both innings against Wanderers in the first series, Dash scored 30 and 15 not out in the second series versus BCL; 29 against Alexandra in the third series; 32 not out in the second innings versus Carlton in the fourth series, and 20 against St John Cultural in the fifth series.
He then scored 39 versus Police in the sixth series and posted his lone half-century, 55 versus Dover in the next; followed by 38 against the Barbados Youth and 35 versus MTW.
Gittens, a tall, slimly-built right-hander and off-spinner, previously played for Police in 2008 and made 12 in his only Division One innings that year.
In Upper Intermediate last season, he captured four for 51 versus BCL in the first series; made 56 against St John Cultural in the second series; took five for 27 and scored 12 against the Barbados Youth in the third series; took two for 57 versus Wanderers in series four; made 17 against Carlton in the sixth series, and had scores of 27 and 18 while taking three for 15 and five for 51 versus Police in the seventh series.
He bagged two for 16 in the eighth series and made 13 and took four for 30 against Yorkshire in the ninth series.
Gittens had a solitary half-century and two five-wicket hauls.
