Colours: Maroon, gold WICB Cup wins: 5 (plus 2 shared) Official website: Leeward Islands Coach Eldine Baptiste | Four Day wins: 3 (plus 1 shared) Twenty20 wins: 0 Captain Devon Thomas Date founded 1980 | |
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Home ground: Antigua Recreation Ground
Warner Park Sporting Complex Grounds Antigua Recreation Ground, Warner Park Sporting Complex | ||
The 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 included – for cricketing purposes Dominica is a part of the Windward Islands. As such, Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Kitts, Nevis, Anguilla, Montserrat, British Virgin Islands, US Virgin Islands and Sint Maarten are all part of the Leeward Islands Cricket Association. The team does not take part in any international competitions (although the member nation of Antigua and Barbuda took part at the 1998 Commonwealth Games), but rather in inter-regional competitions in the Caribbean, such as the West Indies' Professional Cricket League (which includes Regional Four Day Competition and the NAGICO Regional Super50), and the best players may be selected for the West Indies team, which plays international cricket. The team competes in the Professional Cricket League under the franchise name Leeward Islands Hurricanes. The Leeward Islands has won a total of ten domestic titles – four in first class cricket and six in one-day cricket, but their last title was in 1997–98 when they won the double (although the first-class title was shared with Guyana).
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The Leeward Islands played their inaugural first-class game in 1958, and lost by an innings and 19 runs to Jamaica. However, their first win did not come until 1968–69, when they beat Guyana by 43 runs at the Warner Park Sporting Complex ground. From 1965–66 to 1980–81 the team competed as the Combined Islands in first-class cricket, along with the best cricketers from the Windward Islands. However, when regular one-day competitions began in 1975–76 the island groups were separate, and the Leeward Islands won on their third outing in 1977–78.
In 1981–82 the Leeward Islands made their debut in the Shell Shield with a 57-run win over the Windward Islands (the season after the Combined Islands had won the title), but it was to take eight seasons until they could lift the first-class trophy – which by then had been renamed the Red Stripe Cup. From 1989–90 to 1997–98, however, the Leeward Islands won five first-class titles (one shared) and four one-day titles (one shared), but since then they have failed to win any major trophy in the West Indies.
Squad
Listed below are players who have represented the Leeward Islands in either the 2016–17 Regional Four Day Competition or the 2016–17 Regional Super50. Players with international caps are listed in bold.
Source: Regional Four Day Competition, Regional Super50
Notable players
The list of prominent cricketers who have represented the Leeward Islands includes:
Grounds
The Leeward Islands play cricket on all the islands, though the only ground to have seen Test cricket (and also the ground with the most home matches, with 50 first-class games) is the Antigua Recreation Ground. However, their last match at the ARG was in February 2009, while another traditional ground, Warner Park in St Kitts, with 28 first-class games with Leeward Islands, was revamped for the 2007 Cricket World Cup. In the 2004–05 season, the Leeward Islands played their home games at Salem Oval (Montserrat), Edgar Gilbert Sports Complex (St Kitts), Carib Ground (St Maarten), Addelita Cancryn Junior High School Ground (St. Thomas) and Grove Park (Nevis).