THIRTEEN months after Hurricane Ivan devastated the National Stadium, as it did most of Grenada, the island’s principal ground is still little more than a heap of rubble and twisted corrugated iron.

The once billiard table-smooth playing area is now a bumpy field, grass knee-high in most places, with bushes and plants growing even taller. A rusting “Water Hog” sits inside the old boundary at fine leg and white egrets pick their way through the vegetation.

In 18 months’ time, however, this sad scene should reverberate to the joyful sound of six World Cup Super Eight matches. The rebuilding work will be undertaken by China, hardly known for its appreciation or understanding of the game, although MCC are playing several games in the People’s Republic next October during an inaugural tour.

“The stadium will be completed to ICC specifications and on time,” Qian Hongshan, the Chinese Ambassador to Grenada, said. The £15 million cost will be borne in full by the China Anhui Foreign Construction Group.

To ensure that the programme meets its deadline, the Chinese, who have already sent an advance party of engineers, will shortly be flying in their own 300-strong labour force, which will be housed in tents near the ground.

They will work 24 hours a day on a shift basis in an attempt to complete the 15,500-seat stadium by the end of next year. Grenada’s own builders will not have to be diverted from domestic reconstruction work after Ivan.

In return, the Chinese, who are also helping with the building of World Cup grounds in Jamaica and Antigua, can expect to win friends in the region and gain new trading opportunities. Taiwan, China’s bitter rival, had hoped to reconstruct the stadium in Grenada but must now be content with making a new ground in St Kitts and Nevis, where Australia play their World Cup group games.

After 49 years without being hit by a hurricane, Grenada has had to contend with two in ten months. Emily, a category-one hurricane, struck in July this year, damaging two thousand homes on the Spice Island. Although nutmeg production is still only 10 per cent of what it was before Ivan, and bananas now have to be imported, the country is making a good recovery but needs more tourists to return, particularly from its main market, Britain.

Ninety per cent of all buildings lost their roofs during Hurricane Ivan, yet most have now been restored. The majority of hotels are functioning again, with 1,087 beds available, but even though the Grenada Tourist Board hopes to increase that to nearly 2,000 by the World Cup, visiting supporters are expected to exceed that figure comfortably.

England will not be playing any of their World Cup Super Eight matches in Grenada, which may be a blessing given the problems with accommodation. Families here are being encouraged to offer special “homestay” deals (bed and breakfast), and Carriacou, Grenada’s nearby sister island, can provide a couple of hundred beds, but the most likely solution may be floating hotel ships, which can anchor off the picturesque harbour of St George’s.

For the moment, though, Grenada and its wonderfully friendly people are simply rejoicing in life getting back to normal. On Sunday, the first “international” match here since Ivan was staged in Grenville, where more than 3,000 locals turned out to watch Old West Indies beat Old England by 19 runs in a Twenty20 match. In what he had decided would be his final game of cricket, Derek Underwood, 60, was given a rousing farewell by the Grenadians.

Indeed, there was enormous warmth shown towards the England team, captained by Allan Lamb. The players were specially flown out by Virgin, which has given notable support to the island since Ivan, transporting supplies and refurbishing schools.

In a visit to a school on Monday to donate cricket equipment provided by the airline’s employees, two hard-nosed veterans in John Emburey and Paul Nixon were overwhelmed by the ecstatic reception from the children.

“I was almost in tears,” Nixon said. The prospect of staging World Cup matches is just the fillip that this Caribbean gem needs after the carnage of Hurricane Ivan.