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David Boon (right) inspects the international cricket stadium at Dhurwa in Ranchi on Tuesday. Picture by Hardeep Singh
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International Cricket Council (ICC) match referee and former Australian batsman David Boon visited the cricket stadium at Dhurwa in Ranchi on Tuesday and appeared satisfied that it was fit to host the India-England one-day tie on January 19, 2013.
Accompanied by Suru Nayak, manager, cricket operations at Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Boon arrived in the state capital in the morning. According to sources, who were accompanying him, he seemed happy with the facilities on offer and didn’t find too many minuses.
Boon was scheduled to inspect the stadium once again at night to assess the floodlight arrangements.
The ICC match referee began his recce at 3.10pm, starting with the north pavilion side. In the close to two hours that he spent at the venue, Boon scanned the corporate boxes, pitch, practice ground, other facilities and ground status.
“He advised us to trim the grass further. Besides that, he didn’t have much to point out and congratulated us for keeping a beautiful facility,” said an official, adding that the stadium now boasted a concrete approach road.
Boon met senior Jharkhand State Cricket Association officials led by IPS officer Amitabh Choudhary and secretary Sunil Singh.
Although BCCI had inspected the ground a couple of months ago and given its nod, whether or not the Ranchi stadium would actually host the international match would be decided after Boon submitted his report.
“We hope that he will rule in our favour as we have put in a lot of hard work for this stadium and a match will be a great exposure for our state,” said an official.
Reporters were not allowed into the venue during the inspection. Only photographers were permitted.
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