Durham start thorough investigation in incident which injured three spectators

The lone T20I between hosts England and West Indies was an exciting one on the field but off it, the game will be remembered for an ugly incident. During the course of the match, a stand at Chester-le-Street in Durham collapsed which broke the leg of a woman apart from injury two other spectators.

The incident occurred at 9.30 PM, halfway through the England innings when the North-East Terrace flooring caved in. The stand was immediately evacuated which had close to 200 members watching the game. It has been reported that the stand had passed safety inspections prior to the game. The woman is said to be treated at Newcastle RVI hospital.

Durham CC issues statement

A statement which was issued during the match said: “During the course of the second innings between England v West Indies at Emirates Riverside, three spectators were injured when a small section of the North-East Terrace flooring became unstable causing them to fall.

“Stewards took precautionary action and evacuated that area of the stand efficiently. The stand is a permanent fixture at the venue and had passed inspections in the week prior to the match.”

On Sunday, a day after the event, the club issues their statement: Following last night’s fixture at Emirates Riverside three spectators were injured as a result of an incident in the in the North-East Terrace.

“At this early stage, it appears that part of the flooring failed.

“Durham County Cricket Club is currently undertaking its own full and thorough investigation into this incident and will cooperate fully with any investigation by any third party. No further comment will be made by the club until those investigations are complete.”

Game was about to be called off due to unsafe conditions

Since Riverside opened to international cricket in 1995, the ground has hosted 26 international fixtures but was recently banned from hosting Test matches. While the game saw an unsafe event unfolding in the stands, on the field, it wasn’t any better. Due to the showers, the ground was a little greasy. West Indies players had slipped twice before their skipper Carlos Brathwaite had a word with the officials. The World T20 hero later revealed that they were close to calling the game off as it was a risk to his players. Wicket-keeper batsman Chadwick Walton had a bad fall which even required treatment but was fit enough to carry on.

“I had a chat with a few of the boys in a huddle while Chadwick was getting treatment and most of them said it was unsafe,” Brathwaite said. “I told the umpires the boys had some concerns. In the first three or four overs, we had two big slips, Chadwick and one other, and that was a worry.

“For that to happen it could be a career-threatening injury. We always wanted to play but safety is a major concern and it was always in the back of our minds.

“We kind of gave it an ultimatum…we got the outfield roped and we were in agreement that if it continued to be unsafe or if anything dramatic or drastic happened we’d call it quits.”

The Durham T20I was an unpleasant game of cricket due to safety concerns both on and off the field. The visitors, however, started the limited overs format with a win and will look to take the momentum into the ODI series which is scheduled to start from Tuesday.

Brathwaite’s tour lasted just one game as he finds himself out of the ODI squad due to the recall of former stars like Gayle, Samuels and Kieron Pollard.