In the scale of embarrassing incidents, this one is definitely near the top.

As the 21-member ICC inspection team made themselves comfortable at the Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium yesterday, a huge clatter of falling steel startled everyone.

It didn't take too long to locate the origin of the noise: the sightscreen at the media centre end was falling apart with the triangular aluminium prisms piling on top of each other. Half of it however remained glued to the screen, leaving only the "max" of Micromax (the series sponsor) visible.

The tri-vision sightscreen, originally from Sweden, is 38 feet by 22 and it has 102 prisms, most of which had come off when the prisms fell.

It was quite natural for the inspection team members, some of whom were seen taking pictures of the ground from the second floor VIP box, to take a curious look at the clamour.

While it didn't injure any of the groundsmen, it was another wound to the reputation of the ground that is already being slated for the slow construction work of the stands and poor drainage system of the field.

If ever there had to be a symbol of incompetence, especially for Chittagong's World Cup venue, that is definitely it, and that too at the wrong time.