Benjamin's Park

Last updated

Benjamin's Park
Lesser Antilles location map.svg
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Portsmouth
Portsmouth (Lesser Antilles)
Ground information
Location Portsmouth, Saint John Parish
Coordinates 15°34′29″N61°27′16″W / 15.57472°N 61.45444°W / 15.57472; -61.45444 Coordinates: 15°34′29″N61°27′16″W / 15.57472°N 61.45444°W / 15.57472; -61.45444
Establishment unknown
Team information
Windward Islands (2007)
As of 20 May 2015
Source: CricketArchive

Benjamin's Park is a sporting venue in Portsmouth, Dominica, located 30 miles (48 km) away from the capital, Roseau. The venue's primary use is as a cricket ground, and it has held home matches for the Windward Islands, as well as several matches in regional tournaments.

Portsmouth is the second largest town in Dominica, with 2,977 inhabitants. It lies on the Indian River on Dominica's northwest coast, in Saint John Parish. Cabrits National Park is located on a peninsula to the north of town. Portsmouth has its own sea port in Prince Rupert Bay.

Dominica country in the Caribbean

Dominica, officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the West Indies. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of the island. It is part of the Windward Islands in the Lesser Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. The island is located near Guadeloupe to the northwest and Martinique to the south-southeast. Its area is 750 km2 (290 sq mi), and the highest point is Morne Diablotins, at 1,447 m (4,747 ft) in elevation. The population was 71,293 at the 2011 census. The Commonwealth of Dominica is one of the Caribbean's few republics.

Roseau City in Saint George, Dominica

Roseau is the capital and largest city of Dominica, with a population of 14,725. It is a small and compact urban settlement, in the Saint George parish and surrounded by the Caribbean Sea, the Roseau River and Morne Bruce. Built on the site of the ancient Kalinago Indian village of Sairi, it is the oldest and most important urban settlement on the island of Dominica.

Contents

History

What is now Benjamin's Park was originally designed as Portsmouth's main public square, according to the 1765 town plan laid out by a Royal Engineer. [1] During the 1980s, the park was the proposed site for a "multi-purpose community complex", financed entirely by the People's Republic of China. However, the Dominican government never agreed to the project. [2] In January 2007, the ground hosted two home fixtures for the Windward Islands against Barbados, a four-day Carib Beer Cup match followed by a one-day KFC Cup match. [3] [4] The four-day game was the first first-class match played in Dominica since 2004, with Benjamin's Park becoming the third ground in Dominica to host first-class cricket (after Windsor Park and the Botanical Gardens, both in Roseau). Both matches were interrupted by rain, with the one-day fixture ending in a no result, but the second day of the four-day match, a Sunday, saw an attendance of around 4,000. Benjamin's Park had been upgraded to West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) standard with money from the Stanford 20/20 tournament, and was used while Windsor Park was being upgraded for the 2007 World Cup. [5]

Royal Engineers corps of the British Army

The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army.

Barbados national cricket team sports team that represents Barbados

The Barbados national cricket team is the national cricket team of Barbados, organised by the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA). Barbados is a member of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), which is a member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in its own right, and Barbadians play internationally for the West Indies cricket team.

First-class cricket is an official classification of the highest-standard international or domestic matches in the sport of cricket. A first-class match is of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adjudged to be worthy of the status by virtue of the standard of the competing teams. Matches must allow for the teams to play two innings each although, in practice, a team might play only one innings or none at all.

In 2008, Benjamin's Park hosted a Windward Islands Tournament fixture for the first time, when Saint Lucia played Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. It was again used for the competition during the 2012–13 season, but is yet to see any home games for the Dominican national side. When Bangladesh toured the West Indies in 2009, Benjamin's Park was used for a limited-overs game between the Bangladeshis and a University of the West Indies Vice-Chancellor's XI, although the match did not have list-A status. In August 2014, the ground was used for a number of the matches in the WICB Regional Women's Championship, which was hosted by Dominica as a whole. [6] Later in the year, in December, a new government-sponsored training facility, the Dominica Cricket Academy, was opened at the ground. [7]

Saint Lucia national cricket team

The St Lucia national cricket team represents the country of Saint Lucia in cricket. The team is a member of the Windward Islands Cricket Board of Control, which itself is a member association of the West Indies Cricket Board. Players from St Lucia generally represent the Windward Islands cricket team at domestic level and the West Indies at international level. St Lucia has however played as a separate entity in matches which held Twenty20 status, but has not appeared in first-class or List A cricket. St Lucia competes with St Vincent & the Grenadines, Grenada and Dominica in domestic Windward Islands cricket competitions including the Windward Islands two-day and Twenty20 cricket championships. The team's captain, as of 2014, is Craig Emmanuel.

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines national cricket team

The Saint Vincent and the Grenadines cricket team is a cricket team representing Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and is a member of the Windward Islands Cricket Board of Control. For cricketing purposes, players from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines generally represent the Windward Islands at domestic level and the West Indies at international level. However, the St Vincent & Grenadines team did appear four times in its own right at List A level in the 2002–03 Red Stripe Bowl, the domestic one day competition. The team had also played as a separate entity in matches which held Twenty20 status and they continues to compete in domestic Windward Islands cricket competitions including the Windward Islands two-day and Twenty20 cricket championships.

Dominica national cricket team

The Dominica national cricket team represents the country of Dominica in cricket. The team is not a member of the International Cricket Council, but the Dominica Cricket Association is a member of the Windward Islands Cricket Board of Control, which itself is a member association of the West Indies Cricket Board, and players from Dominica generally represent the Windward Islands cricket team at domestic level and the West Indies at international level. Dominica has however played as a separate entity in matches which held Twenty20 status, but has not appeared in first-class or List A cricket. The teams captain, as of December 2013, is Liam Sebastien.

Records

First-class

Windward Islands cricket team

The 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 Professional Cricket League under the franchise name Windward Islands Volcanoes.

Dale Maurice Richards is a West Indian international cricketer who plays first class cricket for Barbados.

Pedro Tyrone Collins is a West Indian cricketer.

List A

Deighton Calvin Butler is a West Indies cricket player and umpire who played five One-day International matches and one Twenty20 international in 2005 and 2006.

See also

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Leeward Islands cricket team

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The Regional Four Day Competition, formerly known as Shell Shield and Carib Beer Cup, is the first-class cricket competition in the West Indies. It is administered by the Cricket West Indies. In the 2013-2014 season the winner of the tournament was awarded the WICB President's Trophy while the winners of the knockout competition were awarded the George Headley/Everton Weekes trophy. In a few previous seasons the winners of the tournament were awarded the Headley/Weekes trophy. From the 2017-18, the Competition has been sponsored by Digicel and is known as the Digicel Four Day Championship.

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Liam Andrew Shannon Sebastien, is a cricketer who plays first-class and List A cricket for the Windward Islands. He is the son of former Windward Islands and Combined Islands cricketer Lockhart Sebastien. He is an alumnus of the Dominica Grammar School and the University of the West Indies. Liam Sebastien's five-wicket haul carried Dominica to a record-breaking 66-run victory over British Virgin Islands (BVI) in the third match of the Stanford 20/20 at the Stanford Cricket Ground in Coolidge, Antigua. Sebastien, the Dominica captain and offspinner, became the fourth bowler to take five wickets in this tournament, as BVI, chasing 140 for victory, were dismissed for a record low 73 in 17.2 overs. The previous tournament low was 74 made by Bermuda against Jamaica. Sebastien is Dominica's most experienced player having played 16 first-class matches for Windward Islands. In another hard-fought match in Bridgetown, Liam Sebastien smashed his second first-class century to put Windward Islands on the verge on securing the first-innings lead against Barbados. Sebastien cracked 143.

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Kevin Arthur James is a Dominican cricketer who has played for the Windward Islands in West Indian domestic cricket. He is an all-rounder who bowls right-arm medium pace and bats left-handed.

References

  1. History of Portsmouth – Community Tourism Dominica. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  2. Sean R. Douglas (29 March 2014). "Lift the veil of secrecy surrounding Dominica's relationship with China"The Sun Dominica. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  3. First-class matches played on Benjamin's Park, Portsmouth – CricketArchive. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  4. List A matches played on Benjamin's Park, Portsmouth – CricketArchive. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  5. Hayden Gill (5 February 2007). "Dominica Comeback"The Dominican, vol. 1, no. 92. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  6. Other matches played on Benjamin's Park, Portsmouth – CricketArchive. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  7. "Dominica Cricket Academy officially launched" – Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Windward Islands v Barbados, Carib Beer Cup 2006/07 – CricketArchive. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Windward Islands v Barbados, KFC Cup 2006/07 – CricketArchive. Retrieved 20 May 2015.