by Mick the Ram

The stadium that is due to host the opening match of the T20 World Cup this weekend, has been hit by severe weather, causing the cancellation of an official warm-up match.

The United States and Bangladesh were due to meet at Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, Texas, but the match was called off with the explanation given as being because of the “condition of the facilities”.

A spokesperson from the International Cricket Council said fencing and scaffolding at the venue had been badly affected, but at this stage it involved “nothing that materially impacts the staging” of the World Cup.

In the US at least 23 people have been killed in the past few days as a result of extreme weather leaving a path of destruction and the Texas region in particular has been on the receiving end of more than its fair share.

The state governor, Greg Abbott, said more than a third of counties were subject to a disaster declaration, after being battered by heavy rain and winds of up to 80mph.

Storm sirens sounded across the city of Dallas, with the threat of more bad weather to come.

The opening match of the T20 World Cup between the US and Canada is due to take place in the stadium on Saturday, 1 June.

Race against time for the opener

With the worst possible timing, authorities face a race against time to make the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas fit to host the opening fixture of the 2024 T20 World Cup.

The violent storm that swept through the state of Texas, has caused the giant screen in the stadium – set up for replays and match-related graphics – to collapse.

Questions have been raised regarding the infrastructure and the facilities at the venue, and more importantly, whether it is fit to hold not just the tournament opener, but also clashes between Netherlands vs Nepal on 4 June, USA vs Pakistan on 6 June, and Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh on 8 June.

Hundreds of thousands without electricity

Authorities have warned that power cuts could last for days in Texas, which is not good news for the fast approaching World Cup. Currently, hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses remain disconnected from the power grid.

There have been accounts of flooded streets, and downed trees and power lines in the centre of Dallas.

Weather-related fires have burned down homes and a historic church in or near the city, and widespread travel disruption has been reported, including hundreds of flight cancellations at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.

There remains warnings of further thunderstorms, flash flooding and tornados in and around the area.

Big opportunity for US under threat

It is a potential nightmare for the organisers. The United States has never hosted a major international cricket tournament before, and it was hoped that this year’s event could boost the sport’s popularity in the country.

They were given the honour of co-hosting the T20 World Cup matches and are set to stage 16 group matches, not just in Dallas, but also in New York – where a temporary 34,000-seater stadium has been constructed on Long Island and will be the venue for the massive clash between arch-rivals India and Pakistan on 9 June – as well as Florida.

All fine in the Caribbean

No such weather problems however are forecast for stadiums of the co-hosting Caribbean nations in Antigua & Barbuda (Sir Vivian Richards Stadium), Barbados (Kensington Oval), Guyana (Providence Stadium), Saint Lucia (Darren Sammy Cricket Ground), St. Vincent & the Grenadines (Arnos Vale Stadium), and Trinidad & Tobago (Brian Lara Cricket Academy).