Just A Passing Shower!

This storm was savage in it's destruction of the grandstand, for a downpour that was called early as a passing shower! The temporary bamboo and cloth shading was slowly coming to pieces in Dhaka by day 5 but it lasted only until 12pm on Day 2 in Chittagong. With rain, thunder, and lightening fearsomely close, play was called off as groundsmen frantically covered the pitch before the weather struck. They did so in the nick of time, but it didn't help the galleries. The cloth tied so tightly to the bamboo scaffold frame became a giant sail, and in a flash huge portions, bamboo and all, of the colourful shade creation was lifted and thrown from the stand. The bamboo poles tied so securely to the steel frame of the fence, snapped at the tie, and in 15 short mins what was a pleasant viewing gallery became a sodden terrace of twised bamboo, cloth, rope, and spectators. It was quite spectacular to watch mother nature's relentless destruction. By the time play was called off, fellows were busily resurrecting what they could of the cloth, and by the time we arrive on day 3 and it will appear as if nothing had happened... possibly!

Luke Gillian 17/04/2006 13:36:45