Anvir Cricket Stadium ready to roll for West Indies warm-up

 
Anvir Cricket Stadium has cleared a crucial hurdle ahead of the West Indies' three-day warm-up match in Bangladesh, with the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) declaring itself satisfied with the venue's preparations.

A six-member BCB inspection team visited the Anvir Bashundhara Group (ABG) Sports City venue on Monday, assessing the pitch and outfield alongside dressing rooms, medical facilities, logistics, media areas and broadcast arrangements.

"We are absolutely satisfied," said Syed Abdul Baten, BCB's national manager for grounds, describing the inspection as the final fine-tuning before the curtain rises on the 22-24 October fixture.

Baten thanked ABG Sports City for its cooperation and said the match would serve as a test case for staging cricket at an alternative venue. The stadium has previously hosted Dhaka Premier League and age-group matches, while a National Cricket League Second XI fixture was also held there recently.

ABG Sports City director Imrul Hasan said hosting the Caribbean side was "certainly a matter of pride" and that the BCB's guidance had helped the venue put the finishing touches to its preparations.

The West Indies squad arrived in Dhaka on 18 October for the warm-up ahead of the two-Test series. The first Test starts in Mirpur on 28 October, followed by the second in Sylhet from 5 November.