Antigua Recreation Ground WI v A 2003 001

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

team representing

Antigua and Barbuda Antigua and Barbuda (, ) is a sovereign country in the West Indies. It lies at the juncture of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean in the Leeward Islands part of the Lesser Antilles, at 17°N latitude. The country consists of two maj ...

has been active since the late 1890s. The Antigua and Barbuda Cricket Association is a member of the Leeward Islands Cricket Association, which itself is a member association of the West Indies Cricket Board, and players from Antigua and Barbuda generally represent the Leeward Islands cricket team at domestic level and the West Indies at international level. The team made its

List A List A cricket is a classification of the limited-overs (one-day) form of the sport of cricket, with games lasting up to eight hours. List A cricket includes One Day International (ODI) matches and various domestic competitions in which the numbe ...

debut at the

1998 Commonwealth Games The 1998 Commonwealth Games ''(Malay: Sukan Komanwel 1998)'', officially known as the XVI Commonwealth Games ''(Malay: Sukan Komanwel ke-16)'', was a multi-sport event held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This edition is marked by several unprecedent ...

, and its Twenty20 debut at the 2006

Stanford 20/20 The Stanford 20/20 was a short-lived cricket tournament in the Caribbean island of Antigua. It was held first in July and August 2006 in the West Indies at the Stanford Cricket Ground, St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda, and then again in the s ...

tournament. As of 2015, the team has played 14 List A matches and four Twenty20 matches. The team captain is Sylvester Joseph, while Ridley Jacobs is the team coach.

History

In the mid-1890s, several touring English amateur sides played matches against Antiguan representative sides. R. S. Lucas' XI toured in 1895, winning by an innings and 69 runs, and A. A. Priestley's and Lord Hawke's XIs both toured in early 1897, winning by an innings and 96 runs and 259 runs, respectively. Part of the colony of the British Leeward Islands until 1958, and a member of the West Indies Federation between 1958 and 1962, Antigua played almost exclusively in the Leewards Islands Tournament, with occasional matches against touring teams, which included a "New Zealand Ambassadors" team in 1970, Kent in 1973 and 1979, and Canada in 1976.Other matches played by Antigua
– CricketArchive. Retrieved 2 March 2012. At West Indian domestic level, Antiguan and Barbudan cricketers represented the Leeward Islands cricket team, which debuted in the

Shell Shield 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 tourname ...

, the domestic first-class competition, in 1958. The Leeward Islands and the Windward Islands participated together as the

Combined Islands cricket team 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- ...

from 1965 to 1981, when they separated again. Antigua and Barbuda gained independence in 1981, and from then on participated as "Antigua and Barbuda". The team toured Bermuda in September 1984, drawing a three-day match with the Bermuda national team. At the

held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia,

fielded a separate team at the cricket tournament, as did Jamaica and Barbados. Matches at the tournament had

status. Antigua and Barbuda were drawn in Group B, along with

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, Canada, and India. The team's first match, against India at the

Tenaga National Sports Complex The Tenaga National Sports Complex is a cricket grounds in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The ground was renamed as the Tenaga Sports Ground in February 1997 and was formerly known as Kilat Kelab Club (Kilat means 'lightning' in English). The Venue ha ...

, finished in a

no-result The result in a game of cricket may be a "win" for one of the two teams playing, or a "tie". In the case of a limited overs game, the game can also end with "no result" if the game can't be finished on time (usually due to weather or bad ligh ...

due to rain. The team was captained by Dave Joseph, and included seven West Indies international players: Curtly Ambrose, Eldine Baptiste,

Kenny Benjamin Kenneth Charlie Griffith Benjamin (born 8 April 1967) is a former cricketer from Antigua and Barbuda who played 26 Tests and 26 One Day Internationals for the West Indies. Playing career A right arm fast bowler, Benjamin spent much of his inte ...

Winston Benjamin Winston Keithroy Matthew Benjamin (born 31 December 1964) is a former Antiguan cricketer who played 21 Tests and 85 One Day Internationals for the West Indies. He is also the father of world champion athlete Rai Benjamin. Domestic career Benjami ...

, Ridley Jacobs,

Sylvester Joseph Sylvester Cleofoster Joseph (born 5 September 1978) is a West Indian cricketer who has played in five Test matches and 13 One Day Internationals from 2000 to 2005. He captained the West Indies in one of those ODI games due to the more experienc ...

, and

Richie Richardson Sir Richard Benjamin Richardson, KCN (born 12 January 1962) is a former West Indies international cricketer and a former captain of the West Indian cricket team. He was a flamboyant batsman and superb player of fast bowling. He was famous for ...

. After losing to Australia and defeating Canada, Antigua and Barbuda finished second in Group B over India due to a higher net run rate, but did not qualify for the semi-finals. The team's leading run-scorer at the games was Ridley Jacobs, who scored 74 runs, and the leading wicket-taker was Anthony Lake. As part of a reorganisation of the structure of

cricket in the West Indies 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, B ...

, Antigua and Barbuda, along with the other Leeward and Windward Islands constituent members, fielded teams at the

Red Stripe Bowl The Super50 Cup, currently named the CG Insurance Super50 Cup for sponsorship purposes is the domestic one-day cricket competition in the West Indies. It was previously known as the KFC Cup until the fast food chain pulled out of sponsorship in ...

, the domestic one-day tournament, in the 2001–02, 2002–03, and 2003–04 seasons. The team was largely unsuccessful, and did not progress beyond the group stage. Antigua and Barbuda also participated in the

tournament in 2006 and 2008, being knocked out in the quarter-finals in both instances. The team played a number of matches against touring sides in the mid-2000s, including against England, Pakistan, Zimbabwe, and India cricket team.

Grounds

The traditional home ground of Antigua and Barbuda is the Antigua Recreation Ground ''(pictured)'', the national stadium of the country, which has hosted a number of Test and One-Day International matches. Two further grounds, the Stanford Cricket Ground and Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, were constructed in 2004 and 2006 for use in the

and 2007 World Cup respectively,Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound
nbsp;– CricketArchive. Retrieved 2 March 2012. and have both been used in inter-island matches featuring Antigua and Barbuda.

Players

International Players

A number of

Antigua Antigua ( ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the native population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Bar ...

players have represented the West Indies internationally. * Apps denotes the number of appearances the player has made. * Runs denotes the number of runs scored by the player. * Wkts denotes the number of wickets taken by the player.

List A Players: 1998 - 2003

Stanford Twenty20 Players: 2006 & 2008

source:
Stanford 20/20 Squad 2006

References

{{National cricket teams * Cricket teams in the West Indies National cricket teams National sports teams of Antigua and Barbuda