Elquemedo Willett Park

Last updated

Elquemedo Willett Park
Lesser Antilles location map.svg
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Charlestown
Charlestown (Lesser Antilles)
Ground information
Location Charlestown, Nevis
Coordinates 17°8′06″N62°37′34″W / 17.13500°N 62.62611°W / 17.13500; -62.62611 Coordinates: 17°8′06″N62°37′34″W / 17.13500°N 62.62611°W / 17.13500; -62.62611
Establishmentunknown
Team information
Nevis (1949–)
Leeward Islands (1977–2009)
Combined Islands (1980)
As of 18 May 2015
Source: CricketArchive

Elquemedo T. Willett Park, known as Grove Park until 2010, is a sporting complex in Charlestown, the capital of the Caribbean island of Nevis. The venue's primary use is as a cricket ground, and it serves as a home ground for both the Nevis and Leeward Islands cricket teams (and historically also for the Combined Islands side).

Contents

History

Cricket was introduced to Nevis (and the other members of the British Leeward Islands colony) in the late 19th century. Nevisians had represented Saint Kitts in the Hesketh Bell Shield (later known as the Leeward Islands Tournament) from its establishment in 1913, and Grove Park was frequently used for matches in that competition after Nevis was admitted separately in 1949. [1] [2] The inaugural first-class match played on the ground came in January 1977, when the Leeward Islands team played its annual fixture against the Windward Islands. Another Leewards–Windwards game was hosted in March 1979, during the 1979–80 season, and the following season the ground hosted its first Shell Shield game, with the Combined Islands playing Guyana. First-class fixtures became more common after the Leewards and Windwards teams were admitted separately to the Shell Shield for the 1980–81 season. [3] In the seasons where no four-day match was played at Grove Park, a fixture in the West Indian domestic one-day competition was generally played instead. [4]

During a Busta Cup match at Grove Park in February 2001, Ryan Hinds, playing for Barbados against the Leeward Islands, took 9/68, which as of May 2015 remains a record for West Indian first-class cricket. [5] Another notable match played at the ground was the game between the Leeward Islands and Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC) during the 2008–09 season. Both teams posted first-innings totals of over 500 runs, and each side had a player who scored a double century – Omar Phillips made 204 for CCC, and Runako Morton scored 231, a ground record, for the Leewards. [6] That match was the second first-class game played at Grove Park during that season, the first and only time that has occurred. The most recent first-class game at the ground was played in January 2010, a neutral fixture between CCC and Barbados. [3] The ground remains the only venue on Nevis to have hosted first-class matches. [7]

In July 2010, Grove Park was renamed in honour of Elquemedo Willett, the first Nevisian to play for the West Indies. The renaming ceremony was a major event for the island, with several members of the island's administration participating, including the Premier of Nevis, Joseph Parry. [8] Outside of cricket, the venue has hosted football and athletics tournaments at both national and regional levels. [9] [10]

Records

First-class

List A

See also

Related Research Articles

Leeward Islands cricket team

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 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, but rather in inter-regional competitions in the Caribbean, such as the West Indies' Professional Cricket League, 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.

The Combined Islands cricket team was a cricket team that represented the cricket-playing islands of the Lesser Antilles, excluding Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago who fielded their own teams. They played in 13 Shell Shield tournaments from 1965-66 to 1980-81, when they won their first title and were subsequently disbanded into Leeward Islands and Windward Islands. Those two teams had first-class status before 1980–81, but competed together in the Shell Shield.

Elquemedo Tonito Willett is a former West Indian cricketer who played in five Tests from 1973 to 1974.

Vance Amory Premier of Nevis and cricketer (1949–2022)

Vance Winkworth Amory was a Saint Kitts and Nevis politician and cricketer. He served two stints as Premier of Nevis, from 1992 to 2006 and from 2013 to 2017, and served as the Minister of Sports in the Nevis Island Administration. He founded and led the Concerned Citizens' Movement. The airport in Nevis, Vance W. Amory International Airport, bears his name.

Tonito Akanni Willett in Nevis, is a West Indian cricketer who plays first-class and List A cricket for the Leeward Islands. He is the son of Elquemedo Willett, brother of Akito Willett and the cousin of Stuart Williams. He is a right handed batsman and bowls at a right-arm medium pace.

Kieran Omar Akeem Powell is a Nevisian sportsman who has played international cricket for the West Indies. He is a left-handed opening batsman.

Leonard Alphonso Harris was a West Indian cricketer who played for the Leeward Islands between 1958 and 1971. An opening batsman for much of his career, and occasional bowler in his final seasons, Harris played in West Indian first class cricket, as well as facing the MCC team, England and Australia during his career. He played 27 matches, scoring nearly 1,400 runs at 29.04, including a century, and taking 15 wickets at 19.46. He then went on to play lower-level cricket for St. Kitts until 1976, and helped create the first cricket academy in the Leeward Islands.

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Ed Arthurton is a former Nevisian cricketer.

Nelson Amos Bolan is a Nevisian cricketer who has played for the Leeward Islands in West Indian domestic cricket. He is a right-handed batsman and right-arm fast-medium bowler.

Raphael Hugh Oswald Wallace is a former Nevisian cricketer who played several matches with the Leeward Islands in West Indian domestic cricket. From Charlestown, the island's capital and largest town, Wallace regularly represented Nevis in inter-island matches, playing from the late 1970s through to the late 1980s. A right-arm fast bowler, he made his first-class debut for the Leewards during the 1979–80 season, in the semi-annual matches against the Windward Islands. In the match, played at the Antigua Recreation Ground, Wallace took 2/33 in the Windwards' first innings, but in the second innings went wicketless, also scoring six runs without losing his wicket. He did not play any further matches at first-class level, but several seasons later played twice for the team in the limited-overs Geddes Grant/Harrison Line Trophy. Wallace took a single wicket in a match against Barbados in February 1984, and two wickets against the same team just over a year later, opening the bowling with Conrad Bartlette. His brother, Leon Claxton, also played representative cricket for Nevis, and his son, Philo Wallace, currently plays for Nevisian under-age teams.

Harwood Wycum Williams is a former Kittitian cricketer who played several matches for the Leeward Islands during the 1990s. He was a right-handed all-rounder bowling medium pace.

Carib Lumber Ball Park is a cricket ground located in Philipsburg, Sint Maarten. It is the principal cricket ground in Sint Marteen and has hosted both first-class and List A cricket in West Indian domestic cricket.

The Welfare Centre Ground is a cricket ground in Rose Hall, Guyana.

Shaw Park is a cricket and football ground in Scarborough, Trinidad and Tobago.

The Edgar Gilbert Sporting Comple is a sports complex in Molyneux, Saint Kitts and Nevis.

The Uitvlugt Community Centre Ground is a cricket and football ground in Uitvlugt, Guyana.

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References

  1. ↑ (2 July 2013). "100 YEARS OF LEEWARD ISLANDS CRICKET" Archived 19 May 2015 at the Wayback Machine – West Indies Cricket Board. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  2. ↑ Other matches played on Grove Park, Charlestown – CricketArchive. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  3. 1 2 First-class matches played on Grove Park, Charlestown – CricketArchive. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  4. ↑ List A matches played on Grove Park, Charlestown – CricketArchive. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  5. ↑ Rick Eyre (11 February 2001). "Ryan Hinds sets new WI regional bowling record" – ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  6. ↑ Leeward Islands v Combined Campuses and Colleges, Regional Four Day Competition 2008/09 – CricketArchive. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  7. ↑ Grounds in Nevis in West Indies – CricketArchive. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  8. ↑ "Grove Park Renamed in Cricketer’s Honour" Archived 19 May 2015 at the Wayback Machine – Nevis Island Administration. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  9. ↑ Jaedee Caines (14 October 2005). "Nevis Football Kicks Off At Grove Park" Archived 25 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine – The Saint Kitts-Nevis Observer . Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  10. ↑ (16 June 2006). "National coach to prepare teams for competition" Archived 25 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine – The Saint Kitts-Nevis Observer . Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  11. ↑ Grove Park, Charlestown – highest team totals in first-class cricket – CricketArchive. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  12. ↑ Grove Park, Charlestown – lowest team totals in first-class cricket – CricketArchive. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  13. ↑ Grove Park, Charlestown – centuries in first-class cricket – CricketArchive. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  14. ↑ Grove Park, Charlestown – seven wickets in an innings in first-class cricket – CricketArchive. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  15. 1 2 3 Leeward Islands v Windward Islands, Geddes Grant Shield 1993/94 – CricketArchive. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  16. ↑ Leeward Islands v Jamaica, Geddes Grant/Harrison Line Trophy 1987/88 (Zone B) – CricketArchive. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  17. ↑ Leeward Islands v Trinidad and Tobago, Geddes Grant/Harrison Line Trophy 1987/88 (Zone B) – CricketArchive. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
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