Desmond Haynes furious at Kenisgton Oval ‘humiliation’ during 1st T20I

In what has proved to be a farcical incident by the authorities at the Kensington Oval, former West Indian batsman Desmond Haynes was forced to wait for an hour before being allowed to enter the ground on Sunday, which has evoked strong reactions from the legend.

Haynes was left so furious with the incident that he even thought of having his name removed from the Haynes and Greenidge stand at the ground, a reaction which may prove to be a slap in the face for the respective authorities.

Haynes who was speaking to Barbados Today said that he was forced to wait in a long queue comprising of regular ground visitors on the eve of the first T20 international between England and West Indies on Sunday and admitted that he was peeved off by the ‘humiliating’ gesture.

As a matter of fact Haynes is also the chairman of a group named as the Cricket Legends of Barbados and this slant will definitely not go down with either the great man or even fans of West Indian cricket.

“To be honest with you, I am totally disappointed. As a matter of a fact, I felt so badly I wanted to find out the right procedure to get my name off the stand; it got to that stage. I wanted to boycott the cricket. I said to myself I don’t want to go back there to go through that type of humiliation but then I was persuaded by my wife ‘don’t let them get to you,” said Haynes.

Haynes statement is that of him being forced to stand in a long queue by ground security despite him having a seat in Box 407, a place reserved specially for people like the legend.

“I was asked for my ID which I handed to security. I said to the lady I need to get into the area because I want to sort out the box; she requested tickets. I presented the tickets and I also had an invitation from the president of the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) to be in the President’s Box so I had all those passes. She informed me, ‘No you can’t come through here. Mr Howard said if you don’t have accreditation nobody can get through here,” said Haynes.

After his initial ordeal Haynes had to endure yet another harrowing time when he was once again forced by ground security in the grounds interior to join the queue when he tried to find his way to the stand bearing his name.

“I was so scared on Sunday that security would have stopped Sir Gary and I ran back and asked them: ‘Please, you stopped me but please openthat gate for Sir Garfield Sobers. Don’t let this be an issue,” said Haynes who feels that other legends like Sir Garfield Sobers should never be allowed to endure such misery.

“I don’t know why they cannot get accreditation for people like us or get an official pass so that we can move around freely at Kensington Oval when there are events down there, since our names are on the box. We should not be requesting this; this should be a given,” said Haynes who also revealed that he was denied accreditation by the BCA who instead asked him to contact the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB).

“I am not asking them to give me the whole stand but at least I think five or six tickets are adequate. We are not asking for the world,” said an unhappy Haynes who also felt that legends like himself were given very few tickets on match occasions.

“I believe we will win the Twenty20 series. I think we have got a fantastic Twenty20 team even though we are going to miss the likes of [Kieron] Pollard who I believe is a very, very good Twenty20 cricketer and someday who I would like to see at some stage captain the West Indies,” signed off Haynes on a happy note who apart from being optimistic about the West Indies’ chances against England also vowed to make an appearance for the third and final T20 game to be held on Thursday.

cricketcountry.com