 |
Each year in the capital, Castries, throngs of people jam the streets in colourful costumes
Official carnival site |
|
 |
 |
| Get all your Windies cricket news here |
|
 |
|
|
|
Chris Read
Reading the conditions
England wicketkeeper Chris Read, who played in both
of England’s only appearances at Beausejour in 2004,
gives his verdict on the stadium...
The views are pretty incredible, it’s not far from the beach so
there’s a great view of the hills and forests. It’s a very beautiful
ground with a wonderful setting. Certainly getting out to the sea
for some sailing and deep-sea fishing has to be an option when
visiting St Lucia – it is for me and any length of stay on the island
provides great opportunities to indulge.
It’s certainly a nice change to play in St Lucia as a lot of the
grounds in the Caribbean are in major cities. The Beausejour
Cricket Ground is brand new and you have to commend the
authorities for building it outside the city; it creates a wonderful
atmosphere, like the fans have gone out of their way to have a
party. Hopefully they have the infrastructure and transport links
there to make it all work for the World Cup as the local area is
literally a 10-15 minute drive from the main track. When
everything is complete it will be an amazing few weeks – the fans
will fall in love with the island and the ground.
It’s a little hard to tell England’s chances at the World Cup as a lot
can happen in a year. I think it will be a pretty open contest with not
much of a home advantage. I imagine a lot of the pitches will be flat
and a lot of runs will be scored. Being just off the sea there’s a bit of
breeze too but on such good batting wickets bowlers might
struggle a bit.
|
|
 |
