NewsTrinidad and Tobago’s four-day match with Leeward Islands was called off on the third morning in Antigua after the surface at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium was ruled unsafe.
The decisive moment came when Leewards seamer Jeremiah Louis was struck flush on the helmet by a good-length ball from Test quick Jayden Seales that climbed alarmingly. Louis went down, thumped the turf in frustration, then kicked his helmet away before medical staff reached him. He was stretchered off and taken to hospital; Cricket West Indies (CWI) later confirmed he was “reported to be in stable condition”.
With 27 wickets already down inside 147 overs and Leewards 96 ahead with three wickets left, umpires Leslie Reifer and Zahid Bassarath consulted captains Joshua Da Silva and Justin Greaves, match referee Johnathan Blades and the ground staff. After a long delay they abandoned the game as a draw.
Leewards head coach Wilden Cornwall admitted the scene was hard to watch. “It was really devastating to see exactly what took place this morning,” he said on the CWI stream. “He’s in the hospital at the moment. I just hope that everything goes well for him and [there is] no really serious damage.” Cornwall also questioned the surface: “To me, it wasn’t given the preparation of a four-day wicket, hence we see so many players get damaged… The pitch has been misbehaving throughout the entire three days.”
Trinidad & Tobago counterpart Rayad Emrit felt the decision could have come sooner. “Very disappointing,” he told local radio. “To be blatantly honest, the bounce has been inconsistent throughout the two-and-a-half days. For me, if that’s the decision, they should have made it on day one.”
Seales, finding exaggerated lift from just short of a length, had already taken seven of the eight second-innings wickets to fall – adding to three in the first – and had Jahmar Hamilton caught at second slip moments before Louis was hit. Earlier in the same over a bouncer thudded into Rahkeem Cornwall’s shoulder, another sign the surface was misbehaving.
CWI issued a short statement: “Following discussions with the curator, it was determined [by the umpires] that the pitch could not be safely repaired without creating an unfair advantage and was therefore deemed unfit to resume, resulting in the match being abandoned as a draw.” Both sides will keep the points they had earned up to the stoppage, in line with tournament regulations.
The West Indies Championship has already been trimmed this season after CWI posted a US$28.5 million loss for 2025. Only twelve first-class fixtures are scheduled, so the abandonment removes one-quarter of Leewards and T&T’s available playing time – an unhelpful blow for players chasing selection or form.
No immediate word came on potential sanctions for the Antigua surface, although precedence suggests the venue could face a rating downgrade or even suspension if the match referee deems it “dangerous”. For now, players and coaches are simply hoping Louis recovers quickly.
