By Neto Baptiste
Disheartening, ashamed and embarrassed were some of the words used by former West Indies captain and batsman, Sir Richie Richardson, in expressing how he feels about the current state of the historic Antigua Recreation Ground (ARG).
Speaking recently on the Good Morning Jojo sports show, Sir Richie said he continues to get requests from teams and individuals who want to play at or visit the venue when in Antigua but admits it has been a difficult task in trying to explain the state of the venue.
“People from the UK and cricket fans from all over the world, whenever they come to Antigua they want to go there and we have not seen the need to preserve that venue. I don’t want to really knock anybody in particular but I think there is something about us here in Antigua and Barbuda where we are not good at maintaining or preserving anything; that place has so much history; it’s such a unique place and I think it should become a museum, a cricketing museum where we can actually still play cricket there and play sports,” he said.
Photographs showing the condition of the venue were recently published in the Daily Observer, revealing the unkempt and deteriorating condition in some areas of the venue.
Sir Richie, who holds the highest third-wicket partnership stand of 308 runs with fellow Antiguan Sir Vivian Richards at the venue made on April 7, 1984, wants to see it restored to a point where it could even host some matches.
“We have to find a way to really restore the ARG and it can be used because we have teams coming here regularly to play cricket and we want venues. Numerous teams have asked me if they can come and play at the ARG because they have heard so much about it but we don’t value it,” the former player said.
“It [ARG] should be in a position for you to play cricket or any other sport but at least cricket because school teams and clubs from the UK and I can show you in my email right now where they are booking flight to come to Antigua and they want us to arrange for them to play at the ARG, but I am embarrassed to tell them the condition it’s in,” he added.
The Antiguan, whose wide-brimmed maroon sunhat became a trademark back in the 90s, said he is willing to assist in any meaningful efforts to restore the venue.
“We can’t depend on government for everything but government can take the lead and I am happy to jump on board and even help to maybe raise funds overseas to maybe help restore that [ARG] . Once it’s restored it has to be managed properly and it has to be kept properly or else I will not be involved,” Sir Richie said.
The Antigua and Barbuda Football Association (ABFA) holds a lease on the facility but has not used the venue since 2020 when the Premier Division was halted due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
