Cricket in the West Indies
Encyclopedia
The West Indies
cricket is a sporting confederation of over a dozen mainly English-speaking Caribbean
countries and dependencies that formed the British West Indies
.
Cricket is traditionally the main sport in the West Indies (though others sports such as football
and basketball
have challenged its dominance from around the 1990s onwards). The British West Indies
hosted the 2007 Cricket World Cup
.
The West Indies consists of Anguilla
, Antigua and Barbuda
, Barbados
, British Virgin Islands
, Cuba
, Dominica
, Dominican Republic
, Grenada
, Guyana
, Jamaica
, Montserrat
, Puerto Rico
, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Maarten, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago and the United States Virgin Islands
.
Cricket is also played in other Caribbean territories such as Bermuda
and the Cayman Islands
who are associate members of the International Cricket Council
whilst the Bahamas, Belize
, Cuba
, Suriname
and the Turks and Caicos Islands
are affiliate members.
in the West Indies. It was originally formed in the early 1920s as the West Indies Cricket Board of Control (and is still sometimes referred by that name), but changed its name in 1996. The Board has its headquarters in St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda
.
The WICB has been a full member of the International Cricket Council
(ICC) since 1926 and is also a member of Americas Cricket Association
. It operates the West Indies cricket team and West Indies A cricket team
, organising Test tours and one-day internationals with other teams.
competition) and the WICB President's Cup (List A one-day competition) and more recently the Caribbean Twenty20 (domestic Twenty20
competition - replacing the Stanford 20/20
which was mainly funded and organized by Sir Allen Stanford
). Other domestic competitions include the TCL Under-19 West Indies Challenge (three-day first class competition), TCL Under-19 West Indies Challenge Limited Overs Series (one-day limited overs competition), CLICO West Indies Under-15 competition and the WIWCF Women's
Senior Tournament. One prominent former competition (not originally organized by the WICB) was the Inter-Colonial Tournament
.
In the case of the Carib Beer Cup and the WICB Cup the following first-class domestic teams participate:
For the TCL Under-19 West Indies Challenge (both the first class and limited overs competitions) it is the Under-19 squads for these teams which participate, while for the CLICO Under-15 West Indies tournament it is the Under-15 squads for these teams which participate. In the 2004 TCL Under-19 Challenge the Under-19 Bermuda cricket team and an Under-19 combined Americas cricket team also took part.
In the WIWCF Senior Tournament and the Stanford 20/20 competition the separate components of the Leeward Islands and Windward Islands compete individually. Additionally for the Stanford 20/20 competition teams from outside the West Indies sporting confederation, but within the Caribbean, also compete including the Bahamas
, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands
, Cuba
(which was barred from competing in 2008 by the U.S. embargo), the Turks and Caicos Islands
(both competing in 2008) as well as the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico (announced for the 2009 edition of the Stanford 20/20).
team representing a sporting confederation of the West Indies.
The "Windies" is one of the ten elite international teams that play at the Test match cricket-level.
cricket is a sporting confederation of over a dozen mainly English-speaking Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
countries and dependencies that formed the British West Indies
British West Indies
The British West Indies was a term used to describe the islands in and around the Caribbean that were part of the British Empire The term was sometimes used to include British Honduras and British Guiana, even though these territories are not geographically part of the Caribbean...
.
Cricket is traditionally the main sport in the West Indies (though others sports such as football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
and basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
have challenged its dominance from around the 1990s onwards). The British West Indies
British West Indies
The British West Indies was a term used to describe the islands in and around the Caribbean that were part of the British Empire The term was sometimes used to include British Honduras and British Guiana, even though these territories are not geographically part of the Caribbean...
hosted the 2007 Cricket World Cup
2007 Cricket World Cup
The 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup was the ninth edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup tournament that took place in the West Indies from 13 March to 28 April 2007, using the sport's One Day International format...
.
The West Indies consists of Anguilla
Anguilla
Anguilla is a British overseas territory and overseas territory of the European Union in the Caribbean. It is one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles, lying east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and directly north of Saint Martin...
, Antigua and Barbuda
Antigua and Barbuda
Antigua and Barbuda is a twin-island nation lying between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It consists of two major inhabited islands, Antigua and Barbuda, and a number of smaller islands...
, Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
, British Virgin Islands
British Virgin Islands
The Virgin Islands, often called the British Virgin Islands , is a British overseas territory and overseas territory of the European Union, located in the Caribbean to the east of Puerto Rico. The islands make up part of the Virgin Islands archipelago, the remaining islands constituting the U.S...
, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, Dominica
Dominica
Dominica , officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island nation in the Lesser Antilles region of the Caribbean Sea, south-southeast of Guadeloupe and northwest of Martinique. Its size is and the highest point in the country is Morne Diablotins, which has an elevation of . The Commonwealth...
, Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
, Grenada
Grenada
Grenada is an island country and Commonwealth Realm consisting of the island of Grenada and six smaller islands at the southern end of the Grenadines in the southeastern Caribbean Sea...
, Guyana
Guyana
Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
, Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
, Montserrat
Montserrat
Montserrat is a British overseas territory located in the Leeward Islands, part of the chain of islands called the Lesser Antilles in the West Indies. This island measures approximately long and wide, giving of coastline...
, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Maarten, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago and the United States Virgin Islands
United States Virgin Islands
The Virgin Islands of the United States are a group of islands in the Caribbean that are an insular area of the United States. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located in the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles.The U.S...
.
Cricket is also played in other Caribbean territories such as Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
and the Cayman Islands
Cayman Islands
The Cayman Islands is a British Overseas Territory and overseas territory of the European Union located in the western Caribbean Sea. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman, located south of Cuba and northwest of Jamaica...
who are associate members of the International Cricket Council
International Cricket Council
The International Cricket Council is the international governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from England, Australia and South Africa, renamed the International Cricket Conference in 1965, and took up its current name in 1989.The...
whilst the Bahamas, Belize
Belize
Belize is a constitutional monarchy and the northernmost country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages. Even though Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official...
, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, Suriname
Suriname
Suriname , officially the Republic of Suriname , is a country in northern South America. It borders French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west, Brazil to the south, and on the north by the Atlantic Ocean. Suriname was a former colony of the British and of the Dutch, and was previously known as...
and the Turks and Caicos Islands
Turks and Caicos Islands
The Turks and Caicos Islands are a British Overseas Territory and overseas territory of the European Union consisting of two groups of tropical islands in the Caribbean, the larger Caicos Islands and the smaller Turks Islands, known for tourism and as an offshore financial centre.The Turks and...
are affiliate members.
Governing body
The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) is the governing body for professional and amateur cricketCricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
in the West Indies. It was originally formed in the early 1920s as the West Indies Cricket Board of Control (and is still sometimes referred by that name), but changed its name in 1996. The Board has its headquarters in St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda
St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda
St John's is the capital and largest city of Antigua and Barbuda, a country located in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea. St John's is located at...
.
The WICB has been a full member of the International Cricket Council
International Cricket Council
The International Cricket Council is the international governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from England, Australia and South Africa, renamed the International Cricket Conference in 1965, and took up its current name in 1989.The...
(ICC) since 1926 and is also a member of Americas Cricket Association
Americas Cricket Association
The Americas Cricket Association is an international body which oversees cricket in countries in North and South America, and the Caribbean islands. It is a subordinate body to the International Cricket Council. The ACA has 16 member countries...
. It operates the West Indies cricket team and West Indies A cricket team
West Indies A cricket team
The West Indies A cricket team is a cricket team representing a sporting confederation of the Caribbean countries: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago...
, organising Test tours and one-day internationals with other teams.
Domestic competition
The West Indies' two major domestic competitions are the Regional Four Day Competition (First-classFirst-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
competition) and the WICB President's Cup (List A one-day competition) and more recently the Caribbean Twenty20 (domestic Twenty20
Twenty20
Twenty20 is a form of cricket, originally introduced in England for professional inter-county competition by the England and Wales Cricket Board , in 2003. A Twenty20 game involves two teams, each has a single innings, batting for a maximum of 20 overs. Twenty20 cricket is also known as T20 cricket...
competition - replacing the Stanford 20/20
Stanford 20/20
The Stanford 20/20 Tournament was a cricket tournament in the Caribbean island of Antigua. It was held first in July and August 2006 in the West Indies at the Stanford Cricket Ground, St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda and the same place the year after...
which was mainly funded and organized by Sir Allen Stanford
Allen Stanford
Robert Allen Stanford is a former prominent financier and sponsor of professional sports who is in prison awaiting trial on charges his investment company was a massive Ponzi scheme and fraud. Stanford was the chairman of the now defunct Stanford Financial Group of Companies. A fifth-generation...
). Other domestic competitions include the TCL Under-19 West Indies Challenge (three-day first class competition), TCL Under-19 West Indies Challenge Limited Overs Series (one-day limited overs competition), CLICO West Indies Under-15 competition and the WIWCF Women's
Women's cricket
Women's cricket is the form of the team sport of cricket that is played by women.-History:The first recorded match of women's cricket was reported in The Reading Mercury on 26 July 1745, a match contested "between eleven maids of Bramley and eleven maids of Hambledon, all dressed in white." The...
Senior Tournament. One prominent former competition (not originally organized by the WICB) was the Inter-Colonial Tournament
Inter-Colonial Tournament
The Inter-Colonial Tournament was the main first class cricket competition in the West Indies before World War II.- Competing teams :* Barbados* British Guiana* Trinidad...
.
In the case of the Carib Beer Cup and the WICB Cup the following first-class domestic teams participate:
- Barbados cricket team
- Guyana cricket team
- Jamaica cricket team
- Leeward Islands cricket teamLeeward Islands cricket teamThe Leeward Islands cricket team is a first class cricket team representing the member countries of the Leeward Islands Cricket Association, a regional association which again is part of the West Indies Cricket Board. Contrary to the normal English definition of the Leeward Islands, Dominica is not...
- Trinidad and Tobago cricket teamTrinidad and Tobago cricket teamThe Trinidad and Tobago cricket team is the representative cricket team of the country of Trinidad and Tobago.The team takes part in inter-regional cricket competitions in the Caribbean, such as the Regional Four Day Competition and the WICB Cup, with the best players selected for the West Indies...
- Windward Islands cricket teamWindward Islands cricket teamThe Windward Islands cricket team is a cricket team representing the member countries of the Windward Islands Cricket Board of Control. The team plays in the West Indies regional tournament....
For the TCL Under-19 West Indies Challenge (both the first class and limited overs competitions) it is the Under-19 squads for these teams which participate, while for the CLICO Under-15 West Indies tournament it is the Under-15 squads for these teams which participate. In the 2004 TCL Under-19 Challenge the Under-19 Bermuda cricket team and an Under-19 combined Americas cricket team also took part.
In the WIWCF Senior Tournament and the Stanford 20/20 competition the separate components of the Leeward Islands and Windward Islands compete individually. Additionally for the Stanford 20/20 competition teams from outside the West Indies sporting confederation, but within the Caribbean, also compete including the Bahamas
Bahamas cricket team
The Bahamas cricket team is the team that represents the Commonwealth of the Bahamas in international cricket matches.-A brief outline:The Bahamas became an affiliate member of the ICC in 1987, although they didn't appear in international competition until the ICC Americas Championship in 2002....
, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands
Cayman Islands cricket team
The Cayman Islands national cricket team is the team that represents the British overseas territory of the Cayman Islands in international cricket matches...
, Cuba
Cuban cricket team
The origins of the Cuban cricket team began in the 1920s when an influx of sugar workers from Jamaica and Barbados brought cricket to the plantations on the east of Cuba...
(which was barred from competing in 2008 by the U.S. embargo), the Turks and Caicos Islands
Turks and Caicos Islands cricket team
The Turks and Caicos Islands cricket team is the team that represents the British overseas territory of the Turks and Caicos Islands in international cricket matches. They became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council in 2002...
(both competing in 2008) as well as the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico (announced for the 2009 edition of the Stanford 20/20).
Representative team
The West Indies cricket team, also known colloquially as The Windies or The West Indies, is a multi-national cricketCricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
team representing a sporting confederation of the West Indies.
The "Windies" is one of the ten elite international teams that play at the Test match cricket-level.
External links
- WindiesFans.com Portal site for West Indies cricket fans
- West Indies Cricket Board
- West Indies vs Zimbabwe Cricket Series 2007
- CaribbeanCricket.com Independent news/discussion site on West Indies cricket
- Westindies Cricketers
- Global Style Cricket West Indies News and Discussion