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 (including the NAGICO Regional Super50) under the franchise name Windward Islands Volcanoes.[1]
 | |
| Personnel | |
|---|---|
| Captain | Sunil Ambris & Kirk Edwards |
| Coach | Andre Coley |
| Team information | |
| Colours | Green |
| Founded | 1980 |
| Home ground | |
| History | |
| Four Day wins | 0 |
| WICB Cup wins | 2 |
| Twenty20 wins | 0 |
| Official website | Windward Island Cricket Board |
It includes the islands that were known as the British Windward Islands except for Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago, who have their own teams. Thus, it includes Dominica (technically a part of the Leeward Islands, but as it was part of the Windward Islands colony from 1940 until independence and its cricket federation remains a part of the Windward Islands), Grenada, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
The team plays in inter-regional cricket competitions in the Caribbean, such as the Regional Four Day Competition and the Regional Super50, and the best players may be selected for the West Indies cricket team, which plays international cricket. However, Grenada took part in the 1998 Commonwealth Games cricket competition separately.
Team history
The Windward Islands team is the least successful of the six West Indian first class teams, having failed to win a first-class title and with four one-day titles in 37 attempts. They played their first first-class match in 1959–60 against the touring England side, losing by ten wickets, and until 1980–81 they mainly played as a part of the Combined Islands. However, from 1981–82 onwards they have played as a separate entity.
On a few occasions, all in the one-day Red Stripe Bowl competition, two teams have represented the Windwards. In the 2001–02, Northern Windward Islands and Southern Windward Islands competed, while in 2002–03, a team from Saint Vincent and Grenadines and a Rest of the Windward Islands side took part.
Squad
 |
Name | Birth date | Batting style | Bowling style | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batsmen | |||||
 | Devon Smith | 21 October 1981 | Left-handed | Right-arm off spin | |
 | Desron Maloney | 5 May 1991 | Right-handed | - | |
 | Kirk Edwards | 3 November 1984 | Left-handed | Right-arm off spin | List A Captain |
| All-rounders | |||||
 | Kavem Hodge | 21 February 1993 | Right-handed | Left-arm orthodox | |
| Keron Cottoy | 14 November 1989 | Left-handed | Right-arm leg spin | |
| Alick Athanaze | 7 December 1998 | Left-handed | Right-arm off spin | |
 | Bhaskar Yadram | 18 September 1999 | Left-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Ryan John | 25 September 1997 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium-fast | ||
| Wicket-keepers | |||||
| Emmanuel Stewart | 23 August 1999 | Right-handed | - | |
| Andre Fletcher | 28 November 1987 | Right-handed | - | |
| Sunil Ambris | 23 March 1993 | Right-handed | - | First-class Captain |
| Spin Bowlers | |||||
| Shane Shillingford | 22 February 1983 | Right-handed | Right-arm off spin | |
 | Larry Edwards | 16 February 1995 | Left-handed | Left-arm orthodox | |
| Kenneth Dember | Right-arm off spin | |||
| Pace Bowlers | |||||
| Shermon Lewis | 21 October 1995 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast | |
| Preston McSween | 15 August 1995 | Right-handed | Left-arm medium-fast | |
| Josh Thomas | Right-arm medium | |||
| Ray Jordan | 21 October 1994 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | |
Notable players
Prominent cricketers who have represented the Windward Islands include:
Honours
- Domestic one-day competition (4): 1988–89, 2000–01, 2012–13, 2017-18
Grounds
The Windward Islands team has played at the following venues
- Arnos Vale Stadium in Kingstown, Saint Vincent, 29 out of 103)
- Queen's Park in Grenada (25 matches),
- Mindoo Philip Park in Saint Lucia (21 matches),
- Windsor Park in Dominica (16 matches).
- Daren Sammy Cricket Ground in Gros Islet, Saint Lucia.
The Mindoo Philip Park has not seen any first-class cricket since 2001, and has been replaced by the Beausejour Stadium (Daren Sammy Cricket Ground) in Gros Islet, which has hosted four matches in three years.