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Legendary England all-rounder Sir Ian Botham on Friday denounced the Antigua Test as a ‘joke’ after the first day’s play was abandoned because of a dangerous outfield.
Only 10 balls of the second Test were bowled before action was called off for the day with West Indies opening bowlers Fidel Edwards and Jerome Taylor struggling to keep their feet on a field covered in so much soft sand that the Sir Vivian Richards Ground resembled a beach.
“I was horrified when I saw it this morning,” Botham told Sky Sports.
“Why on earth this wasn’t moved a week ago is beyond me. The problem they’ve got is the match referee can’t say it’s unfit until they’ve proved it’s unfit.
“This is a debacle, there’s no other word for it. Shambolic; it’s just a joke.
“It’s a beach and why on earth anybody thought this would be okay to play on is beyond me.
“What they need to do now is make the decisions very, very quickly and then they need to put in place some contingency plans for these supporters who’ve come to Antigua and paid a lot of money.
“I don’t know who’s to blame, but I think there might be a few sideways passes and a few people ducking and diving.
“It’s beyond a joke and the real problem is that the only people at this cricket ground are English supporters who’ve come here. There are very few locals, if any.”
Former West Indies fast bowler Michael Holding, working with Botham here as a TV commentator, said the International Cricket Council (ICC) should not be blamed for the farce.
He said the local cricket authorities are at fault.
“The ICC don’t have control over what happens here on any of the islands or in any ground around the world,” said Holding.
“It’s the local cricket board, whether it’s the West Indies Cricket Board or the Leewards Islands Cricket Association.”
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