CATEGORY:SPORTS (CRICKET)
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By Trevor Thwaites
Inside Grenada correspondent
Wednesday November 22,2006


ST.ANDREW’S, Grenada - The development of Progress Park in St Andrew as a practice venue for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 is being done as a show of appreciation and respect to the people St Andrew, which has the best cricket competition in the country and certainly one of the best in the region. Prime Minister, Dr Keith Mitchell, and Sports Minister, Hon. Roland Bhola, commended cricket organizers in the Parish for the high level of interest they have been able to stimulate over the years.

The comments were made during the recent prize-giving ceremony of the 2006 Carib Breweries St Andrew Cricket League, which distributed close to EC$30,000 dollars in prizes and cash awards. St Andrew has over the years produced some of the top Grenada and Windward Island players and the Sports Minister said that it is only fitting to award the parish with a top class facility, so that players can exhibit their skills at the highest level. He said that Tanteen and Beasejour were originally considered as the training venues.

“We assured them (World Cup organizers) that St Andrew needed to have international standard because of the development taking place”, Bhola said. His comments were echoed by Prime Minister Dr Keith Mitchell, who acknowledged that they had to fight to convince the world cup Organizers that one of the venues had to be Progress Park.

“We insisted that Progress Park and Lasagesse be the venues because of the high level of cricket being played in those parishes.” Dr Mitchell said that it was a great opportunity for the improvement of the two venues, which have been run down over the years and needed to be developed. The Prime Minister is confident that the enhancement of the facilities will help to further the advancement of the game, with players having the opportunity to play and practice in world class facilities.

Dr Mitchell said that several of the former test players from England and the West Indies, who for the second year running played at Progress Park in the Virgin Classics, have spoken highly of the facility with the potential to becoming a top class arena. He said that the government will be moving to enhance facilities around the country to provide quality venues for cricketers. He assured the people in St Andrew that a major development project will soon be undertaken in Mama Cannes