Andrew Ladd got into a skirmish near the end of the second period

At approximately 11.30 am on Saturday morning, a batch of pitchforks and shovels arrived at the Queens Park Oval. They were brand new, still in their clear plastic wrapping. For over two hours leading up to that moment, the groundstaff had been hard at work with the stadiums existing stock of tools, training their attentions on a patch of the outfield near the western square boundary. They were breaking up its top surface and subjecting it to jets of hot air from blowers that looked like vacuum cleaners mounted on backpacks.This patch of turf was as long as a pitch, roughly, about twice as wide, and saturated with moisture that simply refused to go away. By breaking it up, the groundstaff were hoping to increase the surface area exposed to the sun and their blowers, and thereby speed up the drying process.It was day three of the fourth Test between West Indies and India, and not a drop had fallen all day. Apart from a brief shower in the afternoon, there had been no rain on day two either. Two nearly rain-free days, and play was nowhere near starting because parts of the outfield were still damp.Almost exactly when the new pitchforks and shovels came out of their wrapping, a dark cloud appeared over the Oval, and covers came onto the field. On day one, when rain stopped play after just 22 overs, the groundstaff had only covered the pitch and the rest of the square. Now, apart from the square, they had covered the bowlers run-ups as well. Apart from its regular blue covers, the Queens Park Oval had acquired a pair of fluorescent yellow ones too.They were the same colour as the ink of a highlighter pen applied over the words too late. For when they arrived in the morning, the umpires had been just as concerned by the run-up areas as they had been by the damp patch near the square boundary.In order to minimise rain delays, some grounds around the world have begun covering their entire outfield. Here, in a Test match scheduled during the wet season, the Queens Park Oval had only begun covering the run-ups on day three. The ground did not own a super sopper either.The third Test in St Lucia lost an entire day to rain that was heavier than the downpour Port of Spain experienced on day one. It left the exposed parts of the outfield totally sodden. But play managed to begin at 10am the next morning. The Darren Sammy National Cricket Stadium owned a super sopper and, perhaps more importantly, its drainage was able to handle a large volume of rain.The drainage at the Queens Park Oval simply seemed inadequate to host a Test match scheduled in the wet season. A major pity, since crowds at the two washed-out days have been far bigger than any seen in the series so far. On the third day, a group of schoolchildren were at the Scotiabank stand, right behind the sodden, dug-up patch of outfield. Some of them must have been coming to watch their first ever day of Test cricket. They probably did not enjoy it.But perhaps the biggest reason for the grounds failure to drain properly was simply the amount of rain it has taken over the last few weeks. It has rained consistently through August, and August is always a wet month. On average, according to the World Meteorological Organisation, Port of Spain receives 244 mm of rain in August, more than in any other month. Scheduling a Test match here now was perhaps not the wisest decision in the first place.It has never happened before. Of the 60 Test matches the Queens Park Oval has hosted, this was the first to be played in August. The venue has never staged a Test in July, only two - in 2010 and 2014 - in June, and only one, back in 1965, in May. The other 56 Tests have all been played between January 19 and April 26, in the dry season, in West Indies traditional cricket season.But once the series had been scheduled, the authorities responsible for staging the Test match - the whole chain running from the WICB through the Trinidad & Tobago Cricket Board to the Queens Park Cricket Club, which owns the ground - could have made the best possible arrangements to minimise the rains impact. They did not have time to overhaul the grounds drainage, and may not have been able to acquire a super sopper either, but they could definitely have rushed to the nearest dealer in outfield covers and picked out a nice, colour-coordinated set. 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The Pacers gave up on Plumlee after just one season. Now Green and Plumlee are key cogs in the Suns surprising breakout season. NEW YORK -- Travis Hamonic got New York off to a fast start, and then Brock Nelson and Shane Prince helped the Islanders pull away in the third period for a big win.Prince and Nelson each had a goal and an assist, and Casey Cizikas and Josh Bailey also scored to help New York beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-1 Sunday night to snap a two-game skid.Hamonic put the Islanders ahead just 1:01 into the game, and Prince and Nelson scored 2:39 apart in the third after the Maple Leafs had pulled within one.We had a real good start, Prince said. We laid back a little bit there end of the first, into the second.Thomas Greiss stopped 33 shots, and Nikolay Kulemin, Nick Leddy and Dennis Seidenberg each had two assists for New York.Greiss has been playing really well all year for us, Prince said. He made some big saves for us. He kept us in it. He just held off long enough for us to get a couple of insurance goals.Jake Gardiner scored for the Maple Leafs and Jhonas Enroth finished with 30 saves. Toronto lost its second straight overall and sixth in a row on the road (0-3-3).Its not the goal scoring. Its the goals you give up, Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock said.After Gardiner scored 50 seconds into the third to pull the Maple Leafs to 2-1, Prince and Nelson scored 2:39 apart to stretch New Yorks lead to three.Prince was the beneficiary of a fortunate carom of the puck off the boards to give the Islanders a 3-1 lead. Enroth misjudged the puck leaving Prince alone in front of the net with the scoring chance.Obviously a good bounce. I am just trying to skate hard, said Prince, who scored in his second straight game after missing the previous five with a lower-body injury. When you are moving your feet and playing well, good things happen.Prince then forced a turnover and had the primary assist on Nelsons goal. Seidenberg had assists on both goals.We have been in so many tight games all season. Getting that cushion helps, Islanders defenseman Thomas Hickey said. I think there is a level of comfort you can get to when you have a lead. Its not always the right comfort but we really havent had a lead like that this year.Bailey capped the scoring in the final minute.The Islanders honored formmer fan-favorite Matt Martin with a video tribute during a stoppage in the opening period.dddddddddddd It was the first time Martin played against them since signing a four-year, $10 million deal with Toronto in the offseason. Martin played the first 438 games of his career with New York, and is 34th on the franchises games played list.It was a little odd. You see him on the other side in a different uniform, Cal Clutterbuck said. But then when the game starts you dont really think about it too much.Hamonics opening goal was the eighth in the last five games for New York defensemen, who have nine goals and 10 assists on the season.Cizikas got his first of the season, burying a rebound of Clutterbucks shot at 7:22 of the first to make it 2-0. Kulemin, who replaced Martin on the Islanders fourth line, had assists on each of the first two goals.Toronto rookie sensation Auston Matthews, the top pick in the 2016 NHL draft, registered four shots in his first career appearance against the Islanders.Martin and Andrew Ladd got into a skirmish near the end of the second period. Ladd, who signed a seven-year $38.5 million contract with the Islanders in the offseason, has just one assist in nine games.Game notes Jaroslav Halak backed up Greiss after he was reportedly put on the trade block. Halaks agent, Allan Walsh, voiced his displeasure on Twitter on Friday. ... The Islanders wore purple jerseys during warmups as part of the NHL Hockey Fights Cancer campaign. ... The Islanders scratched C Mathew Barzal, G Jean-Francois Berube and RW Alan Quine. ... Gardiner scored his first goal of the regular season and is three assists shy of 100 for his career. ... Toronto scratched D Matt Hunwick (lower body), D Frank Corrando and C Peter Holland.UP NEXTMaple Leafs: Host Edmonton on Tuesday night in the first NHL matchup between Matthews and the Oilers Connor McDavid -- the last two No. 1 draft picks.Islanders: Host Tampa Bay on Tuesday night in the teams first meeting since the Lightning eliminated the Islanders in the Eastern Conference semifinals last spring. ' ' '