JEDDAH, 1 July 2005 — The International Cricket Council (ICC) has “given approval” to the upcoming Saudi Gold Cup 2005 cricket matches in Riyadh and Jeddah, the Al-Jawad Trading Group, the series organizers, claimed yesterday.
Three matches will be played between Pakistan XI and Lashings (UK), with the first match set at the King Fahd Stadium on July 15, and the two other matches at the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium in Jeddah on July 21 and 22.
Meanwhile, the organizers said that former West Indies Cricket Captain Richie Richardson and UK-based Lashings Cricket Club Chairman David Folb inspected the two stadiums and expressed their satisfaction about the various arrangements including lighting, dressing room and pitch.
“Richie was greatly inspired by the beauty and architecture of the King Fahd Stadium,” the spokesman for the organizers said.
He said a readymade pitch would arrive in Riyadh on July 8 and would be laid at the stadium a couple of days before the match. “Special grassy tiles are also being brought in to be laid on the stadium ground, as football grounds tend to be small for cricket,” he said, adding that the ground will be inspected by an authorized ICC representative before staging the first ever international cricket match.
In an unsigned communication faxed to Arab News, Clive Hitchcock, ICC’s cricket operations manager, said that approval had been granted in respect of the provisions specified. “Should any of these provisions change once you have written to me, for example the dates are changed or different players are chosen, we’ll reserve the right to ask you to re-apply for approval,” says the letter purported to have been sent to the organizer of the matches.
