Date-stamped : 03 Mar97 - 06:15 28 February 1997 Tourists open on new pitch TWENTY-ONE years ago when the West Indies played India in the fourth and final Test at Sabina Park, the six-day match ended with more than two days to spare with the West Indies winners by 10 wickets. It was a newly-laid pitch, the ball flew off a ridge at the northern end and India, with three batsmen injured, declared their first innings closed. The score was India 306-6 declared and 97 - with five batsmen ab- sent injured. West Indies 391 and 13 without loss. Today, India open their tour of the Caribbean against Jamaica at Sabina Park on a pitch which will be played on for the first time since October when three inches of the surface was removed and replaced by six inches of new clay. Two weeks ago, it was covered with grass, chief groundsman Charles Josephs said it would be a nice, fast, grass pitch. On Wednesday, there was not a blade of grass on it. It was brown and bare. More importantly however, the surface was not level, and all who looked at it wondered what was in store for batsmen. Apart from not being level, there was a hump close to the batting crease at the northern end - a hump so pronounced that a former Jamaica and West Indies batsman suggested that the best thing to do was to pitch the stumps a foot or two further north. That however, is not the only concern over the Sabina Park pitch. The additional inches have left it higher than usual, and while that should not be a problem to the batsmen, it will be to the bowlers - especially the fast bowlers who will be moving from low ground to high in their delivery stride. Source :: Jamaica Gleaner (http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com) Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com)