South Africa cricketers, ICC officials stranded at Trinidad airport after mishap causes runway closure: Report

The ongoing T20 World Cup 2024 has been facing its fair share of logistical issues and pitch controversy. Also, the weather gods haven’t really helped their cause, with rain with a constant threat. Now South Africa, according to ESPNcricinfo, are the latest to fall victim to it as a landing failure of a small private aircraft at the Grantley Adams airport in Barbados resulted in the entire squad, their families, commentators, match and ICC officials being stranded at the Trinidad airport.

The airport in Barbados was closed for inspections by the Civil Aviation Authority and the Barbados Police Service. Moments before take off, the pilots were given information of the runway closure in Bridgetown.

The South African team, commentators and officials were informed that the tentative rescheduled time was 4:30 PM local time, which would amount to nearly six hours of delay. They have reached Barbados by now.

In a statement, Sharleen Brown, Corporate Communication Specialist with GAIA said, “It appeared that the landing gear of the private aircraft did not deploy, but it is currently on the runway at GAIA [Grantley Adams International Airport] safely.”

She also added that all three individuals on board were unharmed, which include two passengers and a pilot.

Sri Lanka, South Africa and Ireland were in a similar situation when they had to spend a whole night at the airport while travelling from Florida to New York. Afghanistan, who finished their last Super Eight game in the early hours of Tuesday, had their flight delayed before their semi-final on Wednesday night.

South Africa thrashed Afghanistan by nine wickets to reach their maiden World Cup final, on Thursday. Chasing a meager target of 57 runs, the Proteas raced to 60/1 in 8.5 overs as Reeza Hendricks (29*) and Aiden Markram (23*) remained unbeaten.

Meanwhile, their bowling department destroyed the Afghans, who collapsed for 56 runs in 11.5 overs as Tabraiz Shamsi and Marco Jansen returned with three-wicket hauls. Against India, they will be looking to build on their form, but face a tough opposition, who have also remained unbeaten throughout the tournament.