By Neto Baptiste
President of the Antigua and Barbuda Cricket Umpires Association (ABCUA), James “Son-Son” Stevens, is defending the body’s members against allegations that matches are being started on either damp or wet pitches during the ongoing Antigua and Barbuda Cricket Association (ABCA) Two Day Competition.
Stevens, while speaking on the Good Morning Jojo sports show, responded to accusations by New Winthorpes Lions’ Nino Henry, who suggested umpires for last week’s match between Lions and All Saints Pythons did not allow adequate time for the pitch to dry before starting the contest.
“We made a detailed investigation and from that investigation the umpires decided that the pitch was fit and ready for play. According to the law, that is the umpires’ call only, so once they say its fit then it is fit. We always try to tell them to don’t be ridiculous and in that case, it wasn’t ridiculous,” he said.
The match between Pythons and Lions, played at Mack Pond in All Saints, saw 20 wickets fall on Saturday’s day one as both teams failed to reach triple figures in their first innings. Lions were bowled out for 64 in 24.4 overs, while Pythons were all out for 44 off just 23.4 overs.
Stevens also expressed disappointment over statements made by head of the cricket association Leon Rodney regarding the issue.
“In the end, we must realise that cricket is the winners and you cannot have the cricket association going one side and the umpires going the next side. We must be in this thing together, going in the same direction,” he said.
Rodney, who later joined the discussion, offered apologies to the umpires’ association, assuring that his statements were not meant to offend.
“If there is any way I would have offended them based on what I said in the last interview, then I would wish to apologise to them. However, we have to also take into consideration that we’re running a cricket association that when information comes to us, especially when it comes from players, their concerns must be dealt with,” he said.
Scores throughout the Two Day Competition have been generally low. Pigotts Crushers was the only team to have scored over 300 runs since the start of the competition after having amassed 433 against Bolans Blasters in the competition’s opening week.
