Cricket in the West Indies

Cricket in West Indies
Providence Stadium in Georgetown, Guyana, one of the premier cricket grounds in the West Indies.
Country	West Indies
Governing body	Cricket West Indies
National team(s)	West Indies Men West Indies Women West Indies U-19 Men West Indies U-19 Women West Indies A Men
Clubs	6 (CPL) 3 (WCPL)
National competitions
List First Class Cricket West Indies Championship List A Cricket Super50 Cup Women's Super50 Cup T20 Cricket Women's Twenty20 Blaze
Club competitions
List Caribbean Premier League Women's Caribbean Premier League
International competitions
List Men’s team ICC World Test Championship: 8th (2019-2021, 2021-2023) Cricket World Cup: Champions (1975, 1979) ICC Men's T20 World Cup: Champions (2012, 2016) ICC Champions Trophy: Champions (2004) Men’s U-19 team Under-19 Cricket World Cup: Champions (2016) Women's team Women's Cricket World Cup: Runners-up (2013) ICC Women's World Twenty20: Champions (2016) Women's U-19 team Under-19 Women's T20 World Cup: Super 6 (2023)

In the sport of cricket, the West Indies is a sporting confederation of fifteen mainly English-speaking Caribbean countries and territories, many of which historically formed the British West Indies. It consists of Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, the British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Maarten, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago and the United States Virgin Islands. The governing body for the confederation is Cricket West Indies (CWI), which is a full member of the International Cricket Council (ICC); beneath the CWI are six territorial governing bodies covering different nations and regions of the confederation. The CWI organises the West Indies cricket team, which represents the confederation in international cricket, as well as administering domestic cricket competitions across the West Indies.

The West Indies cricket team, nicknamed "The Windies", are one of the twelve Test cricket teams, having gained Test status in 1928. They were considered amongst the strongest Test teams from the 1960s, ushering a golden age in which they were undisputed champions for the latter part of the 1970s to the mid 1990s. In One Day International cricket, they have won the World Cup twice and the ICC Trophy once. They have also won the World Twenty20 twice.

Domestic competitions organised across the whole of the West Indies include the Regional Four Day Competition (First-class), the Regional Super50 (List A) and the Caribbean Premier League (Twenty20).

Cricket is also played in other Caribbean nations and territories such as the Cayman Islands, the Bahamas, the Turks and Caicos Islands, Belize, Suriname, and Cuba who are associate members of the ICC. As such, these teams do not form part of the West Indies for cricketing purposes, and field their own separate national teams.

Originally introduced to the West Indies by British soldiers, cricket's popularity spread to the black population and it is traditionally considered one of the most popular team sport in the West Indies and a major part of West Indian culture, although others sports such as association football and basketball have challenged its popularity since the 1990s. Major international cricket competitions hosted by the West Indies include the 2007 World Cup, the 2010 World Twenty20, and the 2024 T20 World Cup.

History

Origin

Cricket originally spread to the West Indies via the British military. Military officials established cricket clubs, including the St. Annes Garrison Club, and integrated cricket pitches into garrisons in the Caribbean. The first known reference to cricket in the West Indies is believed to be from June 1806, in the Barbados Mercury and Bridgetown Gazette. ^[1] Two years later, a cricket match was held between the officers of the Royal West Indies Rangers and the officers of the Third West India Regiment. It is believed that the military was a major influencing force behind the drive to begin playing cricket porting this, there were known to be cricket pitches located in many garrisons all around the Caribbean. ^[2]

Expansion of cricket

During the period of colonial rule, cricket began to be played by the black population of the British West Indies. This adoption was a consequence of constant positive reinforcement from their masters for participating in activities that were familiar such as cricket, and abstaining from those that were perceived as taboo. Eventually, slaves were granted permission to play with military officers (who at one point only played cricket amongst themselves) in restricted roles. Foremost, they were allowed to prepare the wicket before matches, although some were permitted to bowl or retrieve batted balls. ^[3]

As official cricket clubs began to form, some black players were given the opportunity to play for white-majority clubs. However, many cricket clubs remained exclusively white, which led black players to establish their own clubs that would only allow other blacks to join. Clubs such as the Barbados Cricket Committee (BCC), which was established in the late nineteenth century, adhered to the policy of an all-white team, while Jamaica's Melbourne Cricket Club was composed of only professional black cricketeers. ^[2] The first inter-island competition took place in 1865 between Demerara and Barbados, at the Garrison Savannah. ^[4] However, these matches were at first "organized and played almost exclusively by whites." ^[2] Over time, integrated matches became increasingly more common, as integrated cricket teams competed at first in an attempt to prove their dominance over the other teams of other colonies. Some segregation still existed, for instance the fact that black players were often excluded "from clubhouse refreshment breaks during and after the game". ^[2] Gradually, blacks began to be employed on professional teams, marking the start of full racial integration in the sport. ^[2]

The English were eager to promote cricket throughout the British Empire, and on 31 May 1926 the West Indian Cricket Board, along with their New Zealand and Indian counterparts, was elected to the Imperial Cricket Conference (ICC), which previously consisted of the English and representatives of Australia and South Africa. ^[18] Election to full membership of the ICC meant the West Indies could play official Test matches, ^[19] which is the designation given to the most important international games, and the Windies became the fourth team actually to play a recognised Test match on 23 June 1928 when they took on England at Lord's in London. ^[2]

Societal impact

Cricket has traditionally been the most popular sport in the West Indies, both before and after independence. ^[1] The inclusion of black players into West Indian cricket teams marked a moment of racial integration in West Indian society. Talented black players helped to overturn existing attitudes of white superiority. ^[5] Cricket helped to serve a dual purpose for the West Indies- before slavery was abolished in 1833, cricket was considered as a constructive pastime for blacks. In that same time period, it was also considered a way for the whites to exhibit their loyalty to the Crown. ^[6]

Two noteworthy West Indian cricketers are George Headley, who captained the West Indies in the first test against the touring MCC team in 1947-48, and Barbadian Sir Frank Worrell, who was captain of the West Indies team against Australia in 1960-61. In 2009, Both Headley and Worrell were inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame. ^[7] The early 1970s to mid-1990s showed a major increase in the dominance of the West Indian cricket team. The general historical consensus is that this is due to an increase in fast bowling, backed up by some of the best batsmen in the world. In 1976, fast bowler Michael Holding took 14/149 in The Oval Test against England, setting a record which still stands for best bowling figures in a Test by a West Indies bowler. ^{[8] [9] [5]}

Administration

Main article: Cricket West Indies

The Cricket West Indies (CWI) is the governing body for professional and amateur cricket 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 CWI 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.

National teams

National teams of India [ check quotation syntax ]
West Indies (Men's)	West Indies (Women's)
West Indies U-19 (Men's)	West Indies U-19 (Women's)
West Indies A Men

The West Indies cricket team is governed by the Cricket West Indies (CWI). Since 1926, the CWI has been affiliated with ICC, the international governing body for world cricket.

Performance

The following list includes the performance of all of West Indies's national teams at major competitions.

Men's senior team

Main article: West Indies cricket team

The West Indies senior national team had several successes and is considered No. 1 team in Americas and was one of the best team in the world cricket. The national team's highest achievement is winning Cricket World Cups.

Lara during his lap of honour in his final international match, 2007 Cricket World Cup

Tournament	Appearance in finals	Last appearance	Best performance
ICC Men's Cricket World Cup	3 out of 13	2023	Champions (1975, 1979)
ICC Men's T20 World Cup	2 out of 9	2024	Champions (2012, 2016)
ICC Champions Trophy	3 out of 8	2017	Champions (2004)
ICC World Test Championship	0 out of 3	2023–25	8th (2019-2021, 2021-2023)

Women's senior team

Main article: West Indies women's cricket team

Tournament	Appearance in finals	Last appearance	Best performance
ICC Women's Cricket World Cup	1 out of 12	2022	Runners-up (2013)
ICC Women's T20 World Cup	1 out of 9	2024	Champions (2016)

Men's U-19 team

Main article: West Indies under-19 cricket team

Tournament	Appearance in finals	Last appearance	Best performance
ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup	2 out of 15	2024	Champions (2016)

Women's U-19 team

Main article: West Indies women's under-19 cricket team

Tournament	Appearance in finals	Last appearance	Best performance
Under-19 Women's T20 World Cup	0 out of 1	2023	Super 6 (2023)

Organisation of cricket in modern West Indies

International cricket

Cricket in West Indies is managed by the Cricket West Indies (CWI)

Men's Team

Main article: West Indies cricket team

The West Indies Cricket Team represents West Indies in international cricket matches.

West Indies have been participating in international cricket since 1926 and competed in international tournament since the first ever the 1975 Cricket World Cup. The West Indies cricket team has also provided some of the greatest players to the world, the biggest example of which is Viv Richards. West Indies cricket has a rich history. The West Indies men's team is currently ranked No. 8 in Tests, No. 10 in ODIs and at 3rd position in T20Is. India won two World Championship cups in 1975 and 1979 consequently under the captaincy of Sir Clive Lloyd.

• Test International- West Indies made their debut as a Test playing nation in 1928 against England. They have played 582 test match till now.

• One Day International-West Indies played their first ODI International in 1973 against England. They were able to participate in first edition of Cricket World Cup and have almost clinch the title consequently in 1975 Cricket World Cup and 1979 Cricket World Cup.

• T20 International- West Indies played their first T20 International in 2006 against New Zealand. West Indies Men's have made great impact in T20 international from their early day of this format. They have clinch the title two times in 2012 World Twenty20 and 2016 World Twenty20.

Women's National Team

Main article: West Indies women's cricket team

The West Indies women's cricket team represents West Indies in international women's cricket matches.

West Indies have been participating in international cricket since 1976 and competed in international tournament since the fifth 1993 Women's Cricket World Cup. They are the most successful women's cricket team in Americas. The West Indies Women's team is also currently ranked No. 6 in ODIs and at 6th position in T20Is.

• Test International- West Indies made their debut as a Test playing nation in 1976 against Australia. In past time, West Indies women's rarely play test and won it.

• One Day International-West Indies played their first ODI International in 1979 against England. They were not able to participate in first five edition of Women's Cricket World Cup. But in late 19s they have reached to ODI world cup consequently and in latest 2022 Women's Cricket World Cup they have reached semis.

• T20 International- West Indies played their first T20 International in 2008 against Ireland. West Indies Women's have made great impact in T20 international from their early day of this format. They have clinch the title of ICC Women's T20 World Cup in 2016.

Domestic Cricket

Men's Domestic Cricket

First class competitions

• West Indies Championship

Limited overs competitions

• Super50 Cup

Twenty20 competitions

• ' Caribbean Premier League

Women's Domestic Cricket

Limited overs competitions

• Women's Super50 Cup

Twenty20 competitions

• Women's Caribbean Premier League
• Women's Twenty20 Blaze

Youth competitions

• TCL Under-19 West Indies Challenge
• TCL Under-19 West Indies Challenge Limited Overs Series
• CLICO West Indies Under-15 competition

Stadiums

Further information: List of cricket grounds in the West Indies

Active Stadiums

Name	City	Country (constituent island)	Capacity	First used	Tests	ODIs	T20Is	Notes
Kensington Oval	Bridgetown	Barbados	28,000	1930	53	35	17	[10]
Queen's Park Oval	Port of Spain	Trinidad and Tobago	20,000	1930	61	68	6	[11]
Bourda	Georgetown	Guyana	25,000	1930	30	11	0	[12]
Sabina Park	Kingston	Jamaica	15,600	1930	50	37	3	[13]
Antigua Recreation Ground	St. John's	Antigua and Barbuda	12,000	1981	22	11	0	[14]
Arnos Vale Stadium	Kingstown	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	18,000	1997	3	23	2	[15]
National Cricket Stadium	St. George's	Grenada	20,000	2002	3	21	0	[16]
Daren Sammy Cricket Ground	Gros Islet	Saint Lucia	15,000	2003	6	29	12	[17]
Warner Park	Basseterre	Saint Kitts and Nevis	8,000	2006	3	17	5	[18]
Providence Stadium	Providence	Guyana	15,000	2008	2	19	6	[19]
Sir Vivian Richards Stadium	North Sound	Antigua and Barbuda	10,000	2009	6	17	4	[20]
Windsor Park	Roseau	Dominica	12,000	2011	6	4	2	[21]

International competitions hosted

Competition	Edition	Winner	Final	Runners-up	West Indies's position	Venues	Final venue	Stadium
Men's senior competitions
ICC Men's Cricket World Cup	2007 Cricket World Cup	Australia	281/4 (38 overs) – 215/8 (36 overs)	Sri Lanka	Super 8	8 (in 8 countries)	Kensington Oval
ICC Men's T20 World Cup	2010 World Twenty20	England	147/6 (20 overs) – 148/3 (17 overs)	Australia	Super 8	3 ( in 3 countries)	Kensington Oval
ICC Men's T20 World Cup	2024 Men's T20 World Cup	India	176/7 (20 overs) – 169/8 (20 overs)	South Africa	Super 8	9 (in 7 countries)	Kensington Oval
Under-19 Men's Cricket World Cup	2022 Under-19 Men's Cricket World Cup	India	189 (44.5 overs) – 195/6 (47.4 overs)	England	First round	8 (in 5 countries)	Sir Vivian Richards Stadium
Women's senior competitions
Women's T20 World Cup	2010 Women's World Twenty20	Australia	106/8 (20 overs) – 103/6 (20 overs)	New Zealand	Semi-final	3 (in 3 countries)	Kensington Oval

Performance in international competitions

A red box around the year indicates tournaments played within West Indies

Key

	Champions
	Runners-up
	Semi-finals

Men's team

ICC World Test Championship

ICC World Test Championship record
Year	League stage										Final Host	Final	Final Position
	Pos	Matches					Ded	PC	Pts	PCT
		P	W	L	D	T
2019–21 [22]	8/9	13	3	8	2	0	6	720	194	26.9	Rose Bowl, England	DNQ	8th
2021–23 [23]	8/9	13	4	7	2	0	2	156	54	34.1	The Oval, England	DNQ	8th
2023–25 [24]		9	1	6	0	2	0	108	20	18.52	Lord's, England

ICC Cricket World Cup

World Cup record
Hosts, Year	Round	Position	GP	W	L	T	NR
1975	Champions	1/8	5	5	0	0	0
1979			5	4	0	0	1
1983	Runners-up	2/8	8	6	2	0	0
1987	Round 1	5/8	6	3	3	0	0
1992		6/9	8	4	4	0	0
1996	Semi-finals	4/12	7	3	4	0	0
1999	Round 1	7/12	5	3	2	0	0
2003		7/14	6	3	2	0	1
2007	Super 8	6/16	10	5	5	0	0
2011	Quarter-finals	8/14	7	3	4	0	0
2015		8/14	7	3	4	0	0
2019	Group stage	9/10	9	2	6	0	1
2023	Did not qualify
Total	12/13	2 Titles	80	43	35	0	2

ICC T20 World Cup

Main article: West Indies at the Men's T20 World Cup

T20 World Cup record
Hosts, Year	Round	Position	GP	W	L	T	NR
2007	Group stage	11/12	2	0	2	0	0
2009	Semi-finals	4/12	6	3	3	0	0
2010	Super 8	6/12	5	3	2	0	0
2012	Champions	1/12	7	3	2	1	1
2014	Semi-finals	3/16	5	3	2	0	0
2016	Champions	1/16	6	5	1	0	0
2021	Super 12	9/16	5	1	4	0	0
2022	Group Stage	15/16	3	1	2	0	0
2024	Super 8	5/20	7	5	2	0	0
Total	9/9	2 titles	46	24	20	1	1

ICC Champions Trophy

Champions Trophy record
Hosts, Year	Round	Position	GP	W	L	T	NR
1998	Runners-up	2/9	3	2	1	0	0
2000	Round 1	11/11	1	0	1	0	0
2002		7/12	2	1	1	0	0
2004	Champions	1/12	4	4	0	0	0
2006	Runners-up	2/10	8	5	3	0	0
2009	Round 1	8/8	3	0	3	0	0
2013		6/8	3	1	1	1	0
2017	Did not qualify
2025
Total	7/9	1 title	24	13	10	1	0

ICC World Cup Qualifier

World Cup Qualifier record
Year	Round	Position	GP	W	L	T	AB
England 2018	Runners-up	2/10	10	8	2	0	0
Zimbabwe 2023	Super 6	5/10	9	3	6	0	0
Total	-	0 title	19	11	8	0	0

Women's team

ICC Women's Cricket World Cup

World Cup record
Year	Round	Position	Played	Won	Lost	Tie	NR
1973	Did not participate
1978
1982
1988
1993	Group Stage	6/8	7	2	5	0	0
1997	Group Stage	10/11	4	0	3	0	1
2000	Did not participate
2005	Group Stage	5/8	7	2	3	0	2
2009	Super 6s	6/8	8	1	7	0	0
2013	Runners-up	2/8	9	5	4	0	0
2017	Group Stage	6/8	7	2	5	0	0
2022	Semi-final	4/8	8	3	4	0	1
2025
Total	0 Title	-	50	15	31	0	4

ICC Women's T20 World Cup

T20 World Cup record
Year	Round	Position	Played	Won	Lost	Tie	NR
2009	Group Stage	5/8	3	1	2	0	0
2010	Semi-final	4/8	4	2	2	0	0
2012	Semi-final [25]	3/8	4	2	2	0	0
2014	Semi-final	4/10	5	3	2	0	0
2016	Champions	1/10	6	5	1	0	0
2018	Semi-final	3/10	5	4	1	0	0
2020	Group Stage	6/10	4	1	2	0	1
2023	Group Stage	6/10	4	2	2	0	0
2024	Semi-final	4/10	5	4	1	0	0
2026
Total	1 Title	-	40	24	15	0	1

Men's U-19 team

U-19 World Cup

West Indies U19 World Cup record
Year	Result	Pos	№	Pld	W	L	T	NR
1988	Semi-finals	3rd	8	8	5	3	0	0
1998	First round	10th	16	7	5	2	0	0
2000	Second round	5th	16	6	4	2	0	0
2002	Semi-finals	4th	16	7	4	3	0	0
2004	Runner-up	2nd	16	8	5	3	0	0
2006	Second round	8th	16	5	2	3	0	0
2008	First round	9th	16	6	4	2	0	0
2010	Semi-finals	3rd	16	6	4	2	0	0
2012	Quarter-finals	6th	16	6	4	2	0	0
2014	Quarter-finals	6th	16	6	3	3	0	0
2016	Champion	1st	16	6	5	1	0	0
2018	First round	10th	16	6	3	3	0	0
2020	Quarter-finals	5th	16	6	4	1	0	1
2022	First round	11th	16	6	3	3	0	0
2024	Second round	5th	16	5	3	1	0	1
Total				82	55	27	0	2

Women's U-19 team

Under-19 Women's World Cup

West Indies's U19 Twenty20 World Cup Record
Year	Result	Pos	№	Pld	W	L	T	NR
2023	Super 6	–	16	5	2	3	0	0
2025	To be determined
2027
Total				5	3	2	0	0

References

1. Malcolm, p. 77.
2. Malcolm, p. ???
3. Malcolm, p. 78
4. Shales, Melissa (2007). Barbados. London: New Holland Publishers. p. 92. ISBN   978-1-84537-561-4.
5. Malcolm, p. 83.
6. Malcolm, p. 78.
7. Cricinfo (2 January 2009). "ICC and FICA launch Cricket Hall of Fame". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
8. "West Indies in England, 1976". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
9. "Records / West Indies / Test matches / Best bowling figures in a match". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
10. "Kensington Oval test statistics". Archived from the original on 2018-12-27. Retrieved 2019-09-05.
11. "test statistics". Archived from the original on 2018-12-29. Retrieved 2019-09-05.
12. "Queen's Park Oval test statistics". Archived from the original on 2018-12-29. Retrieved 2019-09-05.
13. "test statistics". Archived from the original on 2018-12-29. Retrieved 2019-09-05.
14. "Sabina Park test statistics". Archived from the original on 2018-12-27. Retrieved 2019-09-05.
15. "test statistics". Archived from the original on 2019-01-21. Retrieved 2019-09-05.
16. "Arnos Vale Stadium test statistics". Archived from the original on 2019-01-24. Retrieved 2019-09-05.
17. "test statistics". Archived from the original on 2018-11-18. Retrieved 2019-09-05.
18. "Gros Islet test statistics". Archived from the original on 2019-01-15. Retrieved 2019-09-05.
19. "Providence Stadium test statistics". Archived from the original on 2018-07-07. Retrieved 2019-09-05.
20. "Sir Vivian Richards Stadium test statistics". Archived from the original on 2018-12-26. Retrieved 2019-09-05.
21. "Windsor Park test statistics". Archived from the original on 2018-12-27. Retrieved 2019-09-05.
22. "ICC World Test Championship 2019–2021 Table". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
23. "World Test Championship 2021–23 Table". ESPNCricinfo . Retrieved June 13, 2023.
24. "World Test Championship 2023–25 Table". ESPNCricinfo . Retrieved June 8, 2024.
25. "ICC Women's World Twenty20, 2012/13". ESPNcricinfo. 10 April 2005. Retrieved 7 January 2013.

Bibliography

• Bird, Lester B. (March 3, 2012), "The farce we call West Indies cricket", Caribbean News Now, retrieved June 27, 2012
• Malcolm, Dominic (2012), Globalizing Cricket: Codification, Colonization and Contemporary Identities, London: Bloomsbury, ISBN   9781849665278

External links

• West Indies Cricket Forum – News and Discussion
• 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