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 Oops, sorry Barbados prime minister apologizes for match incident
Posted: Tuesday April 27, 1999 04:46 PM
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (AP) -- Barbados' prime minister apologized "to the cricketing world" for a crowd bottle-throwing incident that disrupted a one-day international between Australia and the West Indies. "I want to say I am sorry on behalf of the children and particularly young people in Barbados," Owen Arthur was quoted as saying in media reports Tuesday. "Sunday's melee is not the type of example we would want our young people to emulate. ... It was simply not the kind of image that I would like to see mature adults projecting of Barbados in this technological age." The prime minister, who made his comments late Monday while visiting a cricket project at a primary school, was at the game but left before an angry crowd, estimated at 14,000, reacted to a controversial run out of West Indies batsman Sherwin Campbell, a Barbadian, by throwing bottles onto the outfield. One bottle narrowly missed Australia captain Steve Waugh's head as he walked towards the pavilion. Play resumed after 45 minutes when Campbell was reinstated. The West Indies won by eight wickets. "I hope that it does not forever stand as a stigma against the good name of cricket in Barbados," Arthur said. The incident in Barbados followed an April 21 incident in which hundreds of spectators invaded the field in the closing moments of the fifth one-day match in Georgetown, Guyana, prompting the referee to declare a draw. Guyanese President Janet Jagan apologized for that incident. West Indies Cricket Board president Pat Rousseau said Monday the body would start fining fans who invade the field. He also called upon countries in the Caribbean Community trade group to upgrade security at the region's cricket grounds. "It's important that we put certain things in place to ensure the safety of players, and we will be lobbying Caricom for their support," Rousseau said. International Cricket Council chief executive David Richards on Monday said the federation will consider being more proactive regarding safety and security at matches and will discuss the issue at its meeting May 12-13. "As far as setting up a ratings system for grounds, I'm lukewarm on that," Richard said. "It's something we can consider, but these things happen so sporadically and unpredictably that it's difficult to work with something like that." Richards said the ICC had a database on all the grounds and had been adding to it over five years. A referee also is appointed to each international and must consult with the local board on issues such as security and only go ahead once he is satisfied any concerns have been addressed. Earlier, Australian Prime Minister John Howard told reporters in Canberra that it was "quite distressing that mob violence and mob intimidation can have an impact on the result of a game." "Sports administrators around the world have got to show more leadership on these issues," Howard said. On April 21, hundreds of spectators invaded the field in the closing moments of the fifth one-day match in Georgetown, Guyana, prompting the referee to declare a draw. Guyanese President Janet Jagan apologized for that incident. The Australian board said it would seriously question a return to the West Indies for future test and limited-overs matches following Sunday's incident.
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