Thursday 8th March 2007
Clarence Hiles reports from the Caribbean...
Plenty of action off the pitch before the Thursday warm-up games with the news that a small tear gas explosion at the Trinidad Hilton Hotel caused a major security scare for the Ireland, South Africa and Pakistan teams.
Happily there were no injuries although the Ireland team was largely out of the picture having left the hotel a few minutes earlier. When asked for a comment on the matter this morning Ireland team manager Roy Torrens told me in a very serious voice; "The whole thing has been blown out of proportion!"
Meanwhile the Barbados public is still simmering after a public outcry when local police doing duty at the Kensington Oval were pictured on national newspapers being stopped and searched by private overseas security staff employed by the ICC! The procedure also outraged senior police and government officers and was hastily stopped by embarrassed ICC officials once the matter was raised.
Roll on cricket amidst all this confusion!
