Tight protocols for Party Stand

ST JOHN’S, Antigua (CMC):

The popular Party Stand is set to return for the Barbados leg of England’s Twenty20 and Test tour of the Caribbean, but patrons will find themselves facing tight COVID-19 protocols as positive cases here continue to rise.

Tickets for the carnivalesque section of Kensington Oval went on sale Wednesday but Cricket West Indies (CWI) said a cap of 600 would be placed on fans, who would need to be fully vaccinated and also produce a negative rapid antigen test “from an approved Barbados government provider”, taken within 48 hours of the start of the match.

Fans will also need to remain masked unless eating and drinking and Party Stand organisers, a local entertainment group called Power by Four, will be collaborating with CWI, the Barbados Cricket Association and Kensington Oval management, to ensure the availability of testing close to the Bridgetown venue.

“The party stand has become a memorable and vibrant part of watching the West Indies in the Caribbean,” said CWI’s commercial director, Dominic Warne.

“Local West Indies fans and travelling England fans alike have fallen in love with the party atmosphere whilst watching top class cricket.

“It’s very much unique to our part of the cricketing world and we are grateful to the Barbados Ministry of Health, the BCA and Kensington Oval for working with us to enable the party stand to be open with the outlined COVID-19 protocols.”

West Indies clash with England in five T20 Internationals from January 22-30 and in the second Test of the three-match series from March 16-20.

Fans will pay US$100 per T20 and US$100 for each day of the Test, but cash in on a Test season-ticket for US$400.

The England tour marks the return of fans to international cricket at the storied venue, for the first time since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, all fans must produce evidence of vaccination in order to be allowed entry.