|
by PHILIP SPOONER of the
Barbados Nation
Yet another international
cricket team is complaining about difficulties during
island-to-island travel in the Caribbean.
Yesterday, the Sri Lankan
side told the SATURDAY SUN about their heartache following a delay
in the arrival of luggage from Grenada to Barbados.
After the side arrived
after noon on Thursday, they were hoping to have a net session in
the evening, but this was impossible as half of their more than 50
pieces of luggage was delayed until 8 p.m.
Manager Ajit Jayasekera
said he was aware before the team reached the region there were
difficulties with small aircraft and they had asked to have the
luggage flown out before the team left Grenada. This did not
happen.
“We were extremely
disappointed when we arrived here in Barbados and found that our
baggage was not available,” Jayasekera said.
“We could not afford to
miss a day’s training as we have a very important series coming
up. It was critical that we had our bags here when we got to
Barbados.
“We knew we had only
two days before the matches and we were hoping to have a net, and
this has set us back.”
Luckily for the visitors,
the West Indies allowed them to use the nets at the 3Ws Oval
yesterday morning, while the Windies took to the field after 11
a.m.
The Australian team also
experienced luggage problems during their recent Caribbean tour.
Meantime, the Trinidadian
Guardian has reported that Police have intensified their
investigations into the Australians' missing gear.
Police detained a
taxi-driver yesterday for questioning in the theft of thousands of
dollars in equipment from Australian cricketers.
Acting on a tip, officers
assigned to St Joseph Police Station searched the suspect’s car
yesterday and allegedly found some of the 35 stolen items,
including bats, pads, shoes, sun glasses and other personal items.
The Australian Cricket
Board had filed a US$10,000 (Trinidadian $63,000) claim with BWIA
for items discovered missing after the team flew to Grenada for
its last two internationals against the West Indies, airline
spokesman Clint Williams said.
Airport authorities and
BWIA both denied the bags could have been tampered with at
Trinidad’s international airport. It was unclear what would
happen with the claim.
“This confirms what our
internal investigations uncovered earlier, that the theft could
not have taken place at the airport,” he said.
The suspect, Williams
said, was working for a taxi service that transported the players
to the airport the morning they left.
Police are still
investigating, and said they could detain more people for
questioning.
No one has yet been
charged with a crime.
Reports compiled from the Barbados Nation and the Trinidad
Guardian Newspapers
|
