The Windward Islands have waited for a long time to get going in the production of long-standing West Indies players since the grouping of islands never started playing in the region’s first-class competition until 1959.
The group of islands made up of Dominica, Grenada, St Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines have never won the West Indies Championship as it is called today, but they have produced some good cricketers along the way.
In continuance of creating an all-time West Indies Championship we have sought to have a look at the best players from each territory in a bid to see just what that competition would look like.
Devon Smith is one of the most prolific scorers in the history of first-class cricket in the region and over the last 22 years, he has almost consistently put his hands up for a chance to play at the Test level. He has not performed particularly well there, with just one century and eight half-centuries in 43 games, but at the first-class level, in 217 matches the opener has scored 38 centuries and 63 half-centuries at an average of 39.78.
First-class Career: Grenada 1998-present
Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave 100s 50s
217 395 26 14681 212 39.78 38 63
Irvine Shillingford was so talented that he made his first-class debut at just 16 years old, though he never played again until he was 20. Batting against a touring Australian side, and despite enjoying a fruitful career for the Combined Islands with 11 centuries and 28 half-centuries, he would not get a West Indies opportunity until he was 32 years old. Still, in just four games, he scored a century of 120, but there was little in between and he was dropped.
First-class Career: Dominica 1961–1982
Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave 100s 50s
92 157 8 5449 238 36.57 11 28
Lockhart Sebastien earned his place among the greats of Windward Islands cricket with 19 years of dedicated service. It didn’t hurt that he was super talented as well, scoring five centuries and 33 half-centuries in 92 first-class games. His average of 32.89 along with his attitude to leadership makes him a good fit for any batting line-up.
First-class career: 1971-1989
Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave 100s 50s
92 162 12 4934 219 32.89 5 33
Andre Fletcher, now a veteran of the Windward Islands set-up, has time and again, saved his team from a worse fate than it would first appear they were destined to suffer.
However, Fletcher has had the tendency to be inconsistent, but when he gets it right there are few bowlers in the region to contain him.
First-class career: Grenada 2004–present
Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave 100s 50s
71 126 8 3678 123 31.16 5 22
Dawnley Joseph is possibly the most popular cricketer from the Windward Islands not to have played for the West Indies. Joseph scored five first-class centuries and 18 half-centuries on his way to a 30.89 average.
First-class career: 1986-1999
Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave 100s 50s
68 124 5 3676 149 30.89 5 18
Daren Sammy’s exploits in first-class cricket as an allrounder certainly help him make this list. As a bowler, he has taken 10 five-wicket hauls and bagged four on six occasions, while scoring two hundreds and 22 half-centuries to boot. But Sammy is also the man you want fighting in the trenches with you, leading the troops. He is the man for tight situations. With the ball, he has 217 wickets and with the bat, 3,549 runs.
First-class career (Batting): 2002–2013
Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave 100s 50s
96 158 9 3549 121 23.81 2 22
First-class career (Bowling): 2002–2013
Mat Inns Balls Runs Wkts BBI Ave Econ SR 4w 5w
96 13744 6312 217 7/66 29.08 2.75 63.3 6 10
Junior Murray wasn’t originally a wicketkeeper but rather a batsman. He began keeping wicket but never looked very elegant because he was seen as too tall and heavy-handed, however, the combination of his keeping and his batting in combination were dangerous for opposition. His 368 dismissals in just 149 matches is an impressive statistic, while his average of 30 means he is always in the game.
First-class career: 1992–2002
Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave 100s 50s Ct St
149 251 30 6830 218 30.90 11 30 337 31
While just a medium-pacer of diminutive stature, Kenroy Peters could sometimes hit the bat hard with his skiddy kind of action and found a fair amount of success bowling for the Windward Islands over the course of 18 years. He bagged 232 wickets in just 78 matches at an average of just over 20.
First-Class Career: 1999-2017
Mat Balls Runs Wkts BBI Ave Econ SR 4w 5w
78 11601 4726 232 7/36 20.37 2.44 50.0 9 0
It is hard to believe that Shane Shillingford has been playing first-class cricket for 20 years but he has. In those 20 years the right arm offspinner has managed 587 wickets at an average of 24.32. Shillingford could produce a mixed bag. He would bowl quickly, exchanging flight and guile for bounce and bite. But those flight variations could come as well if it needed to.
First-Class Career: 2000-present
Mat Balls Runs Wkts BBI Ave Econ SR 4w 5w
132 31564 14278 587 8/33 24.32 2.71 53.7 43 11
Had Winston Davis been born in any era except the one he was, he would have been a regular Test-playing quick.
And Davis was quick. That pace brought him 608 wickets at an average of 28.48 with a strike rate of 54.2. He took four wickets in an innings on 28 occasions and had seven fivers.
First-class career: 1979-1992
Mat Balls Runs Wkts BBI Ave Econ SR 4w 5w
181 32987 17316 608 7/52 28.48 3.14 54.2 28 7
Tall and muscular, Nixon McLean could get quick and while he never made a very effective Test bowler, at the first-class level, the 506 wickets he took said different. McLean didn’t move the ball too often, but on a good pitch for fast bowling, he could be a handful. He hit the pitch hard enough to cause problems.
First-class career: 1992-2006
Mat Balls Runs Wkts BBI Ave Econ SR 4w 5w
149 26258 13925 506 7/28 27.51 3.18 51.8 19 3
Paul-Andre is the Managing Editor at SportsMax.tv. He comes to the role with almost 20 years of experience as journalist. That experience includes all facets of media. He began as a sports Journalist in 2001, quickly moving into radio, where he was an editor before becoming a news editor and then an entertainment editor with one of the biggest media houses in the Caribbean.
'I'm up for the fight' - Roach ready to put in hard work needed to take Bangladesh wickets
West Indies fast bowler, Kemar Roach, insists he is ready for the challenge of trying to take wickets on Bangladesh pitches, despite the surfaces being more suited to spin-bowling.
Despite the presence of several spinners in the squad, the 32-year-old is expected to lead the West Indies bowling line-up, along with fellow pace bowlers Shannon Gabriel and Alzarri Joseph. If the dominance of spinners in the One Day International series, on pitches that offered very little assistance to pace bowlers, is anything to go by they will certainly have their work cut out.
Having been in Bangladesh on two prior Test series, Roach would know first-hand what it takes to succeed on spin-friendly terrain.
In 2011, he claimed 0 for 52 off 9 overs and 1 for 49 off 13.2 overs in the second Test of the series. When he returned in 2018, he claimed 1 for 74 off 18 overs in the first Test and 2 for 61 in 25 overs as Bangladesh made a mammoth 500 in the second Test.
“It mostly favours the spinners but I think there is enough there for fast bowlers to get something as well. It’s just about having your plans, executing, and being disciplined,” Roach told members of the media via a press conference from Bangladesh on Tuesday.
“It’s going to be tough, we know we have to bowl a lot more overs to get our rewards but once you are willing to put the work in you can get some rewards over here…so it’s going to be tough but I’m up for the fight.”
The Windies have had recent success with pace bowling in Bangladesh with Tino Best claiming a five-for in 2012 and Fidel Edwards claiming 8 wickets in the 2011 series.
'Extra time helps us prepare for 'difficult' conditions' - WI spinner Cornwall grateful for long lead-up to Test series
West Indies spinner, Rahkeem Cornwall, believes the unusually long preparation time before the start of the Bangladesh Test series has been beneficial for players needing to get used to ‘difficult’ conditions.
The regional team arrived in Bangladesh on January 10 and was required to quarantine for 7 days based on the country’s COVID-19 protocols. Since clearing that hurdle, however, the Test team has been free to train and will not start the series until February 1.
The Asian team is known for being particularly difficult to beat on their home turf and easily dispatched the West Indies 2-0 on their last visit in 2018. One of those advantages is said to be the team’s pitches.
“It has helped (extra time) you have to adapt to these conditions. These conditions are difficult to play in, so the more time we get to understand the conditions is the better it is for us,” Cornwall said.
“It spins a bit more here. It is always going to be drier than the Caribbean. So, we just have to adapt to it and play to the best of our ability,” he added.
The inexperienced West Indies team will be hoping for a better showing than in the recently concluded One Day International (ODI) series where the team was summarily swept aside 3-0. The ODI batting line-up found the top class Bangladesh spinners on the surfaces a difficult task to cope with.
CG Insurance Super 50 bowls off Feb. 7 with Hurricanes versus Volcanoes
The CG Insurance Super50 Cup bowls off on Sunday, February 7 with the Leewards Hurricanes taking on the Windwards Volcanoes at the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, only 19 matches will be played in the tournament scheduled to conclude on February 27.
According to Cricket West Indies, the health risks related to the COVID-19 pandemic caused major disruption to all domestic cricket since late March 2020, with no competitive cricket allowed regionally except for an abridged version of the Caribbean Premier League which took place last August in Trinidad.
This year’s annual CG Insurance Super50 Cup will provide a platform for the region’s six major cricketing rivals to clash in 19 action-packed 50-over matches starting from Sunday, February 7 when Leeward Islands Hurricanes host the Windward Islands Volcanoes.
The tournament will come to an exciting climax when the new champions are crowned on Saturday, February 27.
The 2019-20 champions, West Indies Emerging Players, are unable to defend their 2019 trophy due to COVID-19 constraints, however, several of those players now feature in the squads of the six competing franchise teams, one of which will emerge as the CG Insurance Super50 Cup champions.
Each team will play each other on a round-robin basis with the top four teams qualifying for the semi-finals and the opportunity to reach the grand final.
Matches will be played at Antigua’s two international cricket venues - the Coolidge Cricket Ground (CCG) and the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium (SVRS). There will be 13 matches at CCG including the semi-finals and final, and six matches at SVRS.
West Indies captain Kieron Pollard said it was good to have regional cricket back after a one-year break.
"It is very good that cricket is coming back to the Caribbean ... players will get the opportunity to showcase their skills and entertain our fans. It has been a trying 2020 for cricketers and the whole Caribbean, so it is really good that we have the CG Insurance Super50 Cup being played at this time and hopefully it can unearth some new talent,” he said.
CWI has been working closely with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Sport in Antigua & Barbuda to orchestrate logistics and agree the safety and medical protocols for the commencement and duration of the tournament.
All players, support staff, match officials and supporting professionals will be tested with negative COVID-19 results before their arrival into Antigua. Players, support staff and match officials will operate within a bio-secure bubble and will be tested at regular intervals during the tournament with assistance from the local Ministry of Health and CARPHA.
“A huge amount of planning and work has been put in to ensure that the Super50 Cup can return and CWI would like to offer our sincere thanks and appreciation to the Government of Antigua and Barbuda, title partners CG Insurance, our host broadcasters ESPN Caribbean and our colleagues at the Leeward Islands Cricket Board and the Antigua and Barbuda Cricket Association, for all of their support in helping to stage the tournament during these unprecedented times,” said CWI CEO Johnny Grave.
Meanwhile, Naz Farrow, CEO of CG Insurance said the company was happy to be able to continue supporting regional cricket.
“CG Insurance is proud to sponsor the CWI Super50 Cup and thrilled to be a part of the first tournament of 2021. We are happy to support the many players and organizers involved and recognize the major efforts that have gone into the preparation of this event during these unique times. By partnering with the CWI series, we have the opportunity to support our various Caribbean nations and to showcase that we are stronger together,” he said.
The CG Insurance Super50 Cup is the marquee 50-over event in the West Indies featuring the six long-standing territorial rivals– Barbados Pride, Guyana Jaguars, Jamaica Scorpions, Leeward Islands Hurricanes, Trinidad & Tobago Red Force, and the Windward Islands Volcanoes.
This is the second edition of the Super50 Cup featuring CG Insurance as title sponsors, and the event promises to stage big performances and memorable moments as the teams go in pursuit of winning the coveted CG Insurance Super50 Cup and being awarded the Sir Clive Lloyd Trophy.
Below is the match schedule for the CG Insurance Super50 Cup
Sun, Feb 7 - Leewards Hurricanes v Windwards Volcanoes (day match) - CCG
Mon, Feb 8 - Guyana Jaguars v Barbados Pride - CCG
Wed, Feb 10 - Leewards Hurricanes v Barbados Pride - CCG
Thur, Feb 11 - Jamaica Scorpions v Trinidad & Tobago Red Force - SVRS
Fri, Feb 12 - Leewards Hurricanes v Guyana Jaguars - CCG
Sat, Feb 13 - Windwards Volcanoes v Trinidad & Tobago Red Force - CCG
Sun, Feb 14 - Jamaica Scorpions v Guyana Jaguars - CCG
Mon, Feb 15 - Trinidad & Tobago Red Force v Barbados Pride - SVRS
Tue, Feb 16 - Windwards Volcanoes v Jamaica Scorpions - CCG
Wed, Feb 17 - Leewards Hurricanes v Trinidad & Tobago Red Force - CCG
Thu, Feb 18 - Windwards Volcanoes v Barbados Pride - SVRS
Fri, Feb 19 - Leewards Hurricanes v Jamaica Scorpions - SVRS
Sat, Feb 20 - Guyana Jaguars v Trinidad & Tobago Red Force - CCG
Sun, Feb 21 - Barbados Pride v Jamaica Scorpions - CCG
Mon, Feb 22 – Windwards Volcanoes v Guyana Jaguars - SVRS
Wed, Feb 24 - SEMI-FINAL 1 - CCG
Thur, Feb 25 - SEMI-FINAL 2 - CCG
Fri, Feb 26 - Fifth placed v Sixth placed -SVRS
Sat, Feb 27 – FINAL - CCG
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