NORTH SOUND, Antigua (CMC): An unsuitable outfield forced the abandonment of play on the opening day of the second Test between West Indies England yesterday at the Vivian Richards Cricket Ground.

Here are some of the key quotes uttered by key personalities:

SIR VIVIAN RICHARDS, the former West Indies captain, on BBC Radio:

"This shoots me straight through the heart. This is not shooting me in the foot. This is shooting me straight through the heart."

ALAN HURST, ICC Match Referee:

"We had to test (the outfield) before a decision like this could be made. It would have been jumping the gun to say before the start of play that it was unfit. Sure it was sandy, but there was no evidence that it would be unfit. I think the evidence has been shown in the first two overs. The bowlers could not get their footing, they were struggling to get any sort of grip at all and they were going through the sand."

OMAR KHAN, West Indies manager :

"Our team physio wrote an email to the West Indies Cricket Board and said he was concerned about the conditions of the outfield and it putting our players at risk of injury."

CHRIS GAYLE, West Indies captain :

"It is embarrassing. I can only apologise to the spectators. It was a huge turnout. Everybody wanted to see this Test. It is always good to play against England and it is disappointing to see these things happen."

HUGH MORRIS, England director of cricket:

"We practised at the Antigua Re-creation Ground for the last few days and we came here to practise and prepare (on Thursday) and obviously, we had a close look at the outfield for the first time and had concerns about it. We had concerns about it and I wrote a letter and handed it to ICC matchreferee Alan Hurst (later that night)."

ANDREW STRAUSS, England captain:

"It did not look satisfactory and if you are going to play a Test match, it has to be in conditions that are fair and if a bowler can only bowl at half pace, that's not fair."