CPL groundsman: Warner Park ready for hectic schedule

CARIBBEAN Premier League (CPL) pitch and field consultant Dave Agnew said hosting 33 matches at one venue in three weeks during the 2021 CPL is pushing the boundaries, but the Australian is confident that the standard of cricket will be at a high level throughout.

Last year the CPL was also faced with a challenge, as for the first time the entire tournament was played in one country because of the covid19 pandemic.

The Queen’s Park Oval and the Brian Lara Cricket Academy were tested. A total of 23 matches were played at Brian Lara Academy and the remaining matches were played at the oval.

The groundsmen at Warner Park in St Kitts are finalising their preparations for the 2021 edition which bowls off on August 26 and runs until September 15.

Agnew has been getting Warner Park ready for the CPL over the past four weeks.

In an interview with Newsday Agnew said, “I have been able to get involved in a lot of the outfield (preparation)…renovations on the outfield, renovations on the square here as well so we are ready for anything.”

Agnew has never prepared a field for 33 matches for such a short tournament window, but he is optimistic with the team around him they can deliver.

“I have only done 26 (matches before). It is the most I have done in a small amount of time, so it is certainly the most I would have done and it would be the most I would ever do I think for something like this. This is certainly pushing the boundary of turf management when it comes to cricket preparation.”

Last year fans were not allowed to attend matches because of the pandemic. This year 25 matches are available for patrons to attend at 50 per cent capacity. Fans must be vaccinated.

Matches in the CPL are normally held across the region in Trinidad, Guyana, Barbados, St Lucia, Antigua and Jamaica.

The pandemic has forced the organisers to limit the travelling among the players and officials.

Agnew said three wickets will be used at Warner Park during the tournament and there will be spaces between those wickets. This will avoid damage to the wickets when batsmen are running between the wickets. Last year at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy the same strategy was implemented.

Asked if fans can expect quality cricket during the tournament, Agnew said “absolutely.”

Agnew praised the team in St Kitts which includes deputy curator Jamal Hewlett and head curator Allex Matthew.

“A real good team of guys here…they are very experienced with here and CPL here over the years since 2015.

“Everyone is certainly positive and pumped for the tournament.”

Agnew said St Kitts and Nevis is a “buzz” with just days remaining to the start of the tournament.

He estimates that teams can score between 160 and 175 runs.

“Keeping the pitches as consistent as we can for the whole tournament is obviously going to be the biggest challenge that we face. We are in a good spot at the moment with the preparation, the weather has been good so far here.”

Agnew, 36, has over 15 years of experience as a groundsman. In 2020 he worked with the team at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy which included sports advisor to Udecott Manohar Ramsaran.

It was a low scoring tournament in 2020 as only five times the team batting first scored over 170. Defending champions Trinbago Knight Riders scored over 170 on four occasions and St Lucia Zouks crossed the figure once.

Brian Lara Academy produced the higher scoring matches last year as the top score by a team batting first at the Oval in 2020 was 151/7.