The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has moved the third Test match between West Indies and New Zealand to Barbados.
The WICB advised yesterday that Kensington Oval will be the new venue for the final Test, initially scheduled to be played at the Providence Stadium in Guyana. The dates for the match remain the same and it begins on June 26 and ends on June 30.
The relocation became a reality following the board and the Government of Guyana not being able to find a mutually agreeable resolution relating to the Cricket Administration Bill.
Madam Justice Sandra Kurtzious ruled that the executive members of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) Anand Sanasie, Anand Kalladeen, Dru Bahadur, Fizul Bacchus, Alfred Mentore, Virendra Chintamanie, Rajesh Singh, Rajendra Singh, Colin Europe, Andy Ramnarine, Lalta Digamber, Ramdeo Kumar, Rayon Griffith, Nazimul Drepaul and Savitri Persaud, should be restrained from conducting any affairs of the GCB.
She also restrained those defendants involved in the administration of West Indies cricket, in this case Senasie and Kalladeen, from carrying out any duties at the WICB.
The GCB was taken to court by Keith Foster, Anil Beharry, Hubern Evans, Julian Cambridge, Angela Haniff, Raymond Haniff, Romash Munna and Shabeer Baksh, who cited that the members were elected to the GCB illegally because of a flawed constitution. They said the elections held last year were unconstitutional and hence the GCB could not carry out the day-to-day functions of the board.
With this in mind, it would have been difficult to put together a staff to deal with all the matters pertaining to hosting a Test match. President of the WICB Dave Cameron flew into Guyana last week in a last-ditch effort to forge an agreement with the Government of Guyana but this failed and the WICB was left with no alternative but to move the match.
In the release sent out yesterday the WICB said it wished to thank the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) and the Government of Barbados for their commitment in ensuring that the match is successfully hosted following the rescheduling.
The Test will be a bonus for cricket fans in Barbados who witnessed three enthralling Twenty20 Internationals between the West Indies and England in March this year.
The Test series opens this coming Sunday with the first Test at Sabina Park in Jamaica. The occasion will mark Chris Gayle's 100th Test match appearance and will also be T&T's Denesh Ramdin's first match in charge of the Test team.