The debacle at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium on Friday, swiftly followed by the triumphant restoration of the Antigua Recreation Ground (ARG) as a Test-match venue yesterday, has exposed the ICC’s folly in insisting on standards that are all very well in countries like England and Australia, but simply do not work in the Caribbean.

The ARG, the scene of some of the greatest moments in Test history, was virtually abandoned as a cricket ground because of the conditions imposed by the ICC for the staging of the World Cup. It offered an ideal opportunity to extend and modernise the ARG by knocking down the old Victorian prison next door and rehousing the inmates elsewhere because the main roads running around the ground were a security risk.

So millions were spent on a new stadium miles out of town that was never going to replace the ARG in the public’s affection any more than the new Trelawny and Providence stadiums in Jamaica and Guyana, which were also built for the World Cup, are going to supplant Sabina Park and Bourda.

Now we are seeing the stupidity of it all. Inside two days, the ARG groundstaff produced a pitch and outfield that mock the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, workmen cleaned up the dilapidated stands and the television company worked wonders in transferring its equipment to beam the evidence around the world.

All that was missing was the referral system because the required equipment could not be installed in time – no doubt to the relief of Tony Hill, the umpire from New Zealand, who had three decisions reversed in the first Test.