In all the excitement and celebrations at Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Grounds in the Caribbean Twenty20 Tournament, certain security procedures were breeched, especially in the very exciting encounter between Guyana and Combined Campuses and Colleges on Friday night.
International regulations clearly state that no unauthorised persons are allowed on the field for any reason and that security should be at its highest. However, this was not the case on that eventful Friday evening.
The police and other security personnel fell asleep on the job which raised concerns for WICB and ICC.
Some time in the middle of the match, a caucasian male ran across the field in his birth suit from west to east, passing nearby to the police post. He eluded capture until trying to scale the fence on the eastern side of the field.
This should have been a wake-up call for the police, but instead it got worst.
In the exciting fixture in which Guyana pulled off a sensational victory, hundreds of Guyanese supporters invaded the field to congratulate their hero, kicking down signboards and running from all angles of the ground.
It was complete pandemonium, not only on the field but also in the players’ seating area.
While the supporters have their right to celebrate, the repercussion could be enormous. The police should have been on the alert and positioned themselves around the grounds, but instead they remained in their quarters while watching this mass invasion.
A number of things could have happened in all of this, least of which the pitches could have been damaged. The umpires and the other team’s players could have been hurt, as well as some of the spectators themselves.
It was a clear lapse in the security procedure. This, of course, was not accepted by the match referees and WICB.
The police did position themselves around the grounds after, but the damage was already done. It was a clear case of closing the stable doors after the horses had already bolted.
It should be a wake-up call for those charged with the responsibility of security. Let’s hope this will never happen again.
