Further bad news from Zimbabwe. DNA reports:

The Zimbabwe cricket team lost its training kit and equipment in a suspected arson attack that also damaged offices at a training academy in Harare, the national governing body said on Wednesday.

The fire came a day after a mysterious fire broke out in the ZC boardroom at the main cricket arena, the Harare Sports Club. Curtains and carpets went up in flames before municipal firefighters arrived. “The coincidence is just too much that we can have the fires on consecutive days on ZC premises,” said ZC president Ozias Bvute.

Zimbabwe are scheduled to tour Bangladesh for a one day international series and it is a shame Zimbabwe have not been stripped of their international status in cricket yet.

West Indies sees it’s first day-night cricket match today, two decades after it first started off. The venue is Beausejour Stadium. One day cricket matches in flood lights are much cooler, literally and figuratively, than the drab full day matches in the heat of the sun. West Indies play Zimbabwe, one of the weakest international sides every, if not the weakest, in the 5th match of the series - not the most promising of settings. However, for the Windies cricket fan, it should be quite exciting.

Haydn Gill reports [Via Ryan Patrick]:

The first half of today’s match will be played in daylight hours between 2 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. and the 224 floodlights on six pylons will be turned on during the 45-minute dinner break in preparation for the second segment of the match between 6:15 p.m. and 9:45 p.m.

While day/night matches are standard around the world, it has taken some time for them to get going in the West Indies. In the view of many, including Lara, it is long overdue…

“It’s a big attraction around the world, having lights in Australia, India and these sort of places.

“In saying that, I don’t think any ground in England has any permanent lights. At least we are ahead of them.”

Hmm.

Also, I cannot figure out why the Windies players are closing their ears while they are acting as if they are practising in the above picture.