Bassarath thanks fans for ignoring call for boycott

UPDATE:

TT Cricket Board (TTCB) president Azim Bassarath has thanked the public for ignoring the call for a boycott of the 1st Test match between the West Indies and Sri Lanka at the Queen’s Park Oval in St Clair.

The opening day on Wednesday was a typical weekday Test crowd with schoolchildren and the die-hard fans making up the majority of spectators. Yesterday saw a similar turnout of 300 to 400 fans as the West Indies batsmen rallied past the 300-mark led by a battling century from Shane Dowrich.

Speaking to Newsday today, Bassarath, who had just left the Oval after viewing day two action, said regardless of what perceived slights, “we must all support West Indies cricket.”

The TTCB boss praised fans for doing the right thing and showing up to the Oval. Bassarath said although the TTCB had concerns with the omission of some Red Force players from the team, he could never support a call for a boycott of the regional team.

He said although TT’s Denesh Ramdin should have been on the squad following an excellent first class season, Barbadian wicketkeeper Shane Dowrich justified his selection with an unbeaten century yesterday.

He said the TTCB would address their concerns through a different channel and reiterated a boycott was not the way.

Bassarath said the crowd at the Oval actually exceeded what they expected and does not believe the numbers will increase significantly as there are a number of competing events on the weekend.

He said small crowds for Test matches has been the norm around the world except for Australia and England and he did not expect a huge turnout as the reality was both teams – West Indies and Sri Lanka – are at the lower end of the ICC rankings.

ORIGINAL STORY:

TT Cricket Board (TTCB) president Azim Bassarath has thanked the public for ignoring the call for a boycott of the 1st Test match between the West Indies and Sri Lanka at the Queen's Park Oval in St Clair.

The opening day on Wednesday was a typical weekday Test crowd with schoolchildren and the die-hard fans making up the majority of spectators. Today saw a similar turnout of 300 to 400 fans as the West Indies batsmen rallied past the 300-mark led by a battling century from Shane Dowrich.

Speaking to Newsday today, Bassarath, who had just left the Oval after viewing day two action, said regardless of what perceived slights, "we must all support West Indies cricket."