KINGSTON: The best cricketers in the world were made to play on 4 pitch West Indian captain Viv Richards said that endangered life.
After he was told the first Test between Australia and the West Indies was to be resumed Richards said players could die on the rain-affected wicket at Sabina Park where play was washed out on Tuesday.
Richards and Australian captain Allan Border were over-ruled by umpires. David Archer and Steve Bucknor who insisted they start after lunch on the final day.
Damp patches on the pitch had dried out to leave a patchwork which resembled a jigsaw puzzle and looked likely to break up.
Richards said he did not want to bat with the ball “flying around my nose” and the umpires said they would stop play if it became dangerous.
“Do you want to wait until someone dies first?” Richards retorted He then demanded the “heaviest roller you’ve got” of the ground staff before storming off.
Border said: “I have played on some dangerous pitches before and the game has not been stopped.”
There is a precedent for halting a match due to a dangerous pitch Most recently the 1989 English county championship match between Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire was halted and play moved to an adjacent wicket.
The Australians were equally unhappy at the prospect of having to bowl.
Article extracted from this publication >> March 22, 1991
