Cricket in the

Cayman Islands The Cayman Islands () is a self-governing British Overseas Territory—the largest by population in the western Caribbean Sea. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, which are located to the ...

is an established sport. The Cayman Islands playing season runs from January to July. There are 20 cricket clubs in the Cayman Islands.International Cricket Council: Cayman Islands

History

Being a

British overseas territory The British Overseas Territories (BOTs), also known as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs), are fourteen dependent territory, territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom. They are the last remna ...

for many centuries, it can be assumed that

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 ...

was played in the early 1800s, as it was in the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

. It first became organised in the Cayman Islands from 1940 and was contested between the districts of West Bay and George Town. By 1970, the game became structured and more organised, starting with 5 teams and the construction of the Smith Road Oval. The rapid growth of the

economy of the Cayman Islands The economy of the Cayman Islands, a British overseas territory located in the western Caribbean Sea, is mainly fueled by the tourism sector and by the financial services sector, together representing 50–60 percent of the country's gross ...

saw many expatriates move to the islands, with them came many people from cricketing nations who helped to fuel a growth in the sport on the islands. In 1997, the Cayman Islands were admitted to the

International Cricket Council The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the world governing body of cricket. Headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, its members are List of International Cricket Council members, 108 national associations, with 12 List of Internation ...

as an Affiliate member. In 2000 they made their debut in

international cricket International cricket matches are played between teams representing their nations, normally organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). The main forms are Test matches, One-Day matches and Twenty20 matches. Most games are played ...

in the Americas Cricket Cup, where they finished 4th and gained their first international victory over

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. In the same year the Cayman Islands became the first Affiliate to play

List A cricket 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 ...

when they took part in the 2000/01 Red Strip Bowl competition. In 2002, they gained Associate membership of the International Cricket Council. By 2005, they were taking part in the

ICC Intercontinental Cup The ICC Intercontinental Cup was a first-class cricket tournament organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC) as part of its cricket development programme. It was designed to allow Associate Members of the ICC the chance to play first ...

, where the Cayman Islands made their debut in

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

against

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and later against

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. The team lost both matches heavily and has not appeared in first-class cricket since. Since then the Cayman Islands have dropped rapidly down the cricketing pyramid of the

World Cricket League The ICC World Cricket League (WCL) was a series of international one-day cricket tournaments for national teams without Test status (i.e., teams of Associate status) administered by the International Cricket Council. All Associate Members of t ...

and will now take part in the

2012 ICC World Cricket League Division Five The 2012 ICC World Cricket League Division Five was a cricket tournament that took place from 18 to 25 February 2012. It formed part of the ICC World Cricket League and qualifying for the 2015 Cricket World Cup. The host country for this tournamen ...

Governing body

Cayman Islands Cricket Association Cayman Islands Cricket Association (CICA) is the official Sport governing body, governing body of the sport of cricket in the Cayman Islands, a British overseas territory. The organisation's headquarters are in George Town, Cayman Islands, George ...

is the official governing body of cricket in the Cayman Islands. Its current headquarters is in Grand Cayman. Cayman Islands Cricket Association is the Cayman Islands representative at the International Cricket Council.

Domestic competitions

Men's domestic cricket in the Cayman Islands is split into 2 divisions: Clico Cayman Division 1 and Clico Cayman Division 2. Matches are played in one-day and

Twenty20 Twenty20 (T20) is a shortened game format of cricket. At the professional level, it was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 for the inter-county competition. In a Twenty20 game, the two teams have a single innin ...

formats. The islands also have 3 women's cricket clubs.

Domestic teams

Listed below are the current 7 most senior men's cricket clubs that make up the Clico Cayman Division 1, the highest level of domestic cricket in the Cayman Islands:Cayman Islands domestic teams
/ref> *By Rite Cricket Club *Esso Tigers Cricket Club *Greenies 1 Cricket Club *Lime Schools Cricket Club *Paramount Cricket Club *Police Cricket Club *Prison Cricket Club

Grounds

There are currently plans to develop four further cricket grounds in the Cayman Islands. By the end of 2009 a new pavilion had been constructed at the Jimmy Powell Oval.

National team

The

Cayman Islands national cricket team The Cayman Islands national cricket team is the team that represents the British overseas territory of the Cayman Islands in international cricket. The team is organised by the Cayman Islands Cricket Association, which has been an associate mem ...

formed in 2000. They have played at first-class (in the

2005 ICC Intercontinental Cup The 2005 ICC Intercontinental Cup was the second edition of the ICC Intercontinental Cup, a cricket competition for (then) 12 nations from Asia, Africa, North America and Europe. All the games were scheduled for three days and were designated ...

)

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 ...

(in the

2000–01 Red Stripe Bowl The 2000–01 Red Stripe Bowl was the 27th season of what is now the Regional Super50, the domestic limited-overs cricket competition for the countries of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB). It ran from 11 to 22 October 2000. Ten teams conte ...

), and

level (in the

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 ...

), as well as in the

. A national women's team also exists, but has played only one international tournament (in 2012).

References

External links

CaymanCricket site
{{National Cricket Articles