-to spend 3 weeks in New Zealand improving craft
Guyanese curator Wazim Habib will have a first-hand look at how pitches are made in New Zealand after he was named best Groundsman of the 2018 Hero Caribbean Primer League (CPL).
The Hero CPL in 2018 created an award for the groundsman that has overseen the greatest improvement in the pitches at tournament venues since the league’s inception in 2013.
The Busta Sports Club grounds-man is the Head curator at Providence for the past four years and has been instrumental in the works since 2016 when the pitches first underwent their rehabilitation.
Providence National Stadium was regarded as one of the best venues in terms of drainage and irrigation among all the venues in the Caribbean.
Under the craftsmanship of Habib, the venue has now been transformed from a sluggish 140-score track, to a belter that has been producing consistent scores of 170 or more.
The highest total was achieved recently when the Jamaica Tallawahs and the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots clashed in a spot for Sunday’s final.
The Tallawahs posted 191 batting first, a record score, only to have it gunned down by two-wickets shortly after.
Such scores are a credit to the curator’s dedication to ensuring the pitch was vastly improved ahead of the tournament. As his reward, the man from Enterprise, on the East Coast Demerara with some 21 years of experience will wing out to New Zealand for further training.
There the Guyanese will spend time in Christchurch and Auckland where he will see first-hand how pitches are prepared from an international perspective.
He will also spend time with world renowned pitch expert, Mark Perham as he looks to further improve his skill and craft as a ground curator.
