St John’s, ANTIGUA — When West Indies line up against Pakistan at Sabina Park for the first Test of this year’s series in Kingston, April 21-25, it will be the 50th Test Match for one of the region’s most popular venues for cricket.
Sabina Park, like Kensington Oval, is among two of the international venues which will have hosted 50 Test matches or more.
The West Indies Cricket Board, in association with Kingston Cricket Club and Sabina Park Holdings through the support of the Jamaica Cricket Association, will be hosting a series of events during the match to celebrate the important milestone.
A poster competition has been launched and is being circulated for participation among schools in Jamaica. The competition is for children/students 12 to 19 years of age. The theme is, ‘Sabina, how the past influences the future’.
Among the other activities will be a fitting tribute to all the wonderful performances which have taken place at the park. Chief among them will be images of Garfield Sobers’ record 365* in 1958; George Headley’s 270* in 1935 and Ramnaresh Sarwan’s 261* in 2004. Those are among the best batting performances listed.
Bowling highlights will include the exploits of former fast bowler, Courtney Walsh, who tops the list with the highest number of wickets, 48, which he took between 1985 – 2001; Sir Wes Hall grabbed 35 during an eight-year period, 1960-1968; and the late Malcolm Marshall, 31, between 1981-1991.
The celebration will include a mix of sport and entertainment activities to showcase how valuable cricket and Sabina Park have been to Jamaica since the first Test back in April 1930.
JCA President Billy Heaven says “the milestone is an important one for the park and we think it could have not come at a better time, when the cricket industry is at a turning point towards more positive economic contributions. We are pleased to be hosting Pakistan on this milestone. We anticipate keen contest in the match and we look forward to support from the fans for the variety of activities we will have to mark this significant time in our history.”
The full list of activities will be available to the public shortly. Tickets for the match will be available online in a week and at the gates, two weeks prior to the start of the match.