The shutdown of Grantley Adams International Airport in Barbados has caused a disruption on the South African cricket team’s path to the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 final. The squad, as well as ICC officials, commentators, and match officials who were travelling to the final venue, were delayed by about six hours as a result of this incident.
Tight deadlines and logistical issues have plagued the USA and the West Indies, who are co-hosting the T20 World Cup 2024, throughout the competition. South Africa’s journey to the championship game has been incredible; they went through the group stages and Super Eight stage undefeated.
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They qualified for the summit match by defeating Afghanistan in the first semi-final, which was their first-ever appearance in a men’s World Cup final.
The airport in Barbados was closed for inspections by the Civil Aviation Authority and the Barbados Police Service due to a small private aircraft’s unsuccessful landing, which resulted in the delay.
“The private aircraft appears not to have deployed its landing gear, but it is safely currently on the runway at GAIA [Grantley Adams International Airport].” The three people on board—two passengers and a pilot—were all unharmed, she verified, according to a statement from GAIA Corporate Communication Specialist Sharleen Brown.
In SF-1, South African went through Afghanistan’s lineup.
Shortly before their planned departure from Trinidad, the Proteas side and other passengers were notified of the runway restriction. There was almost a six-hour delay as the new departure time was provisionally set at 4:30 PM (2:30 AM IST). The Proteas were dominant in the semi-final encounter between Afghanistan and South Africa. Afghanistan, who had been having an incredible run in the competition, was dismissed for just 56 runs.
The bowling attack of South Africa, spearheaded by three-wicket leaders Marco Jansen and Tabraiz Shamsi, proved too much for the Afghan batsmen to handle. As a result, Aiden Markram & Co. successfully chased down the mark with only dropping one wicket, thanks to the leadership of Markram (23*) and Reeza Hendricks (29*).
At the Kensington Oval in Barbados on June 29, the Markram-led team will play the victorious team from England vs India in the competition’s semifinal 2.
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