November 09 Saturday 2002
Windies get safety assurances after crowd trouble

NAGPUR: West Indies have been assured by the Indian cricket board that there will be no repeat of the crowd trouble which marred the first one-day international in Jamshedpur on Wednesday.

"We have received assurances from the board secretary by fax this morning that all efforts will be made to ensure there is no recurrence of that type of situation," West Indies manager Ricky Skerritt told reporters on Friday. 

The first match was stopped for 10 minutes towards the end after the crowd, sensing an Indian defeat, threw missiles and empty water bottles onto the field.The teams walked off before the situation was brought under control. Ramnaresh Sarwan hit a last-ball four to help West Indies win by four wickets to go 1-0 up in the seven-match series.The International Cricket Council (ICC) has asked match referee Mike Proctor to report on the incident. 

Skerritt hoped Saturday's second game in Nagpur as well as the rest of the series would pass without problems."It will be unfortunate if a game of cricket comes to an end because of activity in the crowd. I believe all good cricket lovers will frown on what took place in Jamshedpur and ensure there won't be such interruption again," he told reporters.Tight security arrangements have been made in Nagpur. 

But the atmosphere is expected to be more tense when the teams travel to the riot-hit western state of Gujarat, which is set to host three consecutive games in Rajkot, Ahmedabad and Baroda. Riots between Hindus and Muslims have claimed over 1,000 lives there this year, with the state's main city of Ahmedabad the scene of violence in the last few days. But Skerritt said he was confident the Indian cricket officials would ensure his players' safety. 

"We're going to be confident the board will assess the situation. As we understand, it is more of a political situation. We don't get involved in politics," he said. "But if there is any sort of safety risk, we will have to be aware of it." 

Asked whether West Indies would agree to an venue change if matches were forced out of Gujarat, he said: "We are not alone in this. As long as the arrangements make sense to both teams and as long as there is opportunity to play, and not play under duress."