St.George’s (Grenada) ; The Grenada government distanced itself from a decision to stop the post game party after the second One-Day International (ODI) match between West Indies and Bangladesh at the national stadium last Friday.
Economic Development Minister Oliver Joseph said Tuesday that his government was not responsible for turning off the music in the party stand after Bangladesh crashed to a 177 run defeat two hours before the game was scheduled to end, reports media.
The Keith Mitchell administration has been criticized for stopping the music by sections of the public including callers to talk shows.
“You will recall that the match ended at around 3 p.m. and the music was going on in the posse stand and it was just stopped all of a sudden,” Joseph told a news conference.
“I want to make it very clear that this was beyond the control of the government. West Indies Cricket Board makes that decision and they sent instructions out that the music should be stopped,” he said.
Bangladesh were shot out for a disappointing 77 in a feeble attempt to chase down the 248 run target set by West Indies.
Bangladesh’s final seven wickets fell for just 13 runs amid a carnival atmosphere at the national stadium.
“So a lot of people were angry with us for stopping the music because the vendors were still selling their drinks and people were enjoying themselves and having fun,” said Joseph.
“I too was disappointed when the music was stopped. The West Indies cricket board really had control over that aspect.”
Meanwhile, West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) is reported to be pleased with the large turnout of spectators for the game, weeks after officials lamented the poor attendance for the opening matches of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) in Grenada.
“We were indeed delighted with the turn out,” said Joseph.
“The report from the board of directors of the West Indies Cricket board is that they were extremely pleased.”
The National stadium in Grenada will host a Test match between West Indies and England in April next year.