GEORGETOWN, Guyana (CMC):

SECURITY concerns have forced the fourth-round Carib Beer Series match between Guyana and Combined Colleges and Campuses (CCC), scheduled to commence on Friday here, to be switched from Albion in Berbice to the Guyana National Stadium in Providence.

A source close to the Guyana Cricket Board said the switch had been made mainly because of security reasons, following the escalating crime wave.

The village of Lusignan, where 12 people were gunned down by bandits in January, is located on the east coast of Demerara and teams would have had to pass though these villages on their way to Albion which is close to 100 miles by road from the capital.

Guyana has experienced a number of brutal slayings, recently, with 11 people also murdered in another village, Bartica, in February.

With adverse weather affecting the country, recently, the switch to the National Stadium will also reduce the possibility of rain having a negative impact on the match since the venue has a new drainage system installed for last year's Cricket World Cup.

This weekend's match will be the first home fixture for Guyana whose first three matches have all been away to Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and Jamaica. They were beaten in all three games. Guyana, who last won a regional first-class title in 2002, languish at the bottom of the Carib Beer points standing without a point to their credit.

For their CCC fixture, Guyana are expected to be strengthened by the inclusion of reliable West Indies middle-order batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul and one-day international opener Sewnarine Chattergoon for their first home match this year. After scoring a century in the first round against Trinidad and Tobago at Queens Park Oval in January, Chattergoon was called up to represent the West Indies in the ODI series in South Africa.

The 33-year-old Chanderpaul was unavailable for the first three games because of West Indies commitments also in South Africa.