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The Greenfield Stadium, which is commonly known as the Trelawny Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium, located in the Trelawny area of Jamaica. The stadium has a capacity of 10,000 seats with a temporary seating of up to 25,000 seats. The stadium is mostly used for cricket.
It hosted warm-up matches during the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup and the opening ceremony of the tournament.
The stadium has been used by the Jamaica national football as a venue when they played a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier against the Bahamas.
History
The stadium was built as a gift to the country by the Chinese government during a time when they were trying to increase their influence in the region.
After none of the Caribbean nations bid to host the opening ceremony of the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup, the Jamaican government stepped up its efforts by starting the construction of the stadium in November 2005 and with the help of a majority of Chinese labour force, the stadium was finished in 2006.
The stadium has not hosted any international cricket match till now due to the presence of the Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica.
Major Matches
The Greenfield Stadium hosted a couple of Women’s ODI games when England toured the Caribbean in 2016. In the first game, England won a thriller by five runs. After deciding to bat first, England lost wickets at regular intervals before losing all of them at 149. Needing 150 runs to win, West Indies could get only 144.
West Indies arranged for some retribution in the second ODI held at the stadium. Choosing to bat after winning the toss, the Windies mustered 148 as skipper Stefanie Taylor scored 56. In their reply, England were skittled out for 110 with Deandra Dottin returning with figures of 4/19 and Afy Fletcher taking 3/20.
Controversies
Since the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup opening ceremony, the stadium has been used quite sporadically which had invited criticism from a number of quarters. A number of critics point out at the underuse of the stadium.
In 2012, former president of Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association, Wayne Cummings called the facility a “white elephant” and “the biggest waste of money”.
Recent Matches
The stadium has not hosted any official ODI till date. However, the stadium is supposed to host the first unofficial test match between the West Indies A and England Lions from 11th to 14th February 2018.
