Elquemedo T. Willett Park, known as Grove Park until 2010, is a sporting complex in Charlestown, the capital of the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

island of

Nevis Nevis is a small island in the Caribbean Sea that forms part of the inner arc of the Leeward Islands chain of the West Indies. Nevis and the neighbouring island of Saint Kitts constitute one country: the Federation of Saint Kitts and Ne ...

. The venue's primary use is as a

cricket ground 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 strikin ...

, and it serves as a home ground for both the Nevis and

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, an associate of the West Indies Cricket Board. Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Kitts, Nevis, Anguilla, Monts ...

s (and historically also for the Combined Islands side).

History

Cricket was introduced to Nevis (and the other members of the

British Leeward Islands The British Leeward Islands was a British colony from 1671 to 1958, consisting of the English (later British) overseas possessions in the Leeward Islands. It ceased to exist from 1816 to 1833, during which time it was split into two separate c ...

colony) in the late 19th century. Nevisians had represented

Saint Kitts Saint Kitts, officially the Saint Christopher Island, is an island in the West Indies. The west side of the island borders the Caribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces the Atlantic Ocean. Saint Kitts and the neighbouring island of Nevis cons ...

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. 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 french: Îles du Vent , image_name = , image_caption = ''Political'' Windward Islands. Clockwise: Dominica, Martinique, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada. , image_alt = , locator_map = , location = Caribbean SeaNorth ...

. 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 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 ...

game, with the Combined Islands playing

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

. First-class fixtures became more common after the Leewards and Windwards teams were admitted separately to the Shell Shield for the 1980–81 season.First-class matches played on Grove Park, Charlestown
– CricketArchive. Retrieved 18 May 2015. 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. During a Busta Cup match at Grove Park in February 2001,

Ryan Hinds Ryan O'Neal Hinds (born 17 February 1981) is a West Indian cricketer. He is a left-hand batsman and a slow left-arm orthodox bowler. Hinds was a member of the West Indies team that won the 2004 ICC Champions Trophy The 2004 ICC Champions Tr ...

, playing for

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...

against the Leeward Islands, took 9/68, which as of May 2015 remains a record for West Indian first-class cricket. Another notable match played at the ground was the game between the Leeward Islands and

Combined Campuses and Colleges Combined may refer to: * Alpine combined (skiing), the combination of slalom and downhill skiing as a single event ** Super combined (skiing) * Nordic combined (skiing), the combination of cross country skiing and ski jumping as a single event * T ...

(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 Omar Jamel Phillips (born 1986) is a West Indian cricketer who plays domestically for the Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC) and has played Test cricket for the West Indies. A left-handed opening batsman, he got his Test opportunity following ...

made 204 for CCC, and

Runako Morton Runako Shakur Morton (22 July 1978 – 4 March 2012) was a Nevisian cricketer who played for West Indies in all formats of the game. He was a right-handed batsman and a right-handed offbreak bowler. Domestic career A lively, often unpredicta ...

scored 231, a ground record, for the Leewards. 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. The ground remains the only venue on Nevis to have hosted first-class matches. In July 2010, Grove Park was renamed in honour of

Elquemedo Willett Elquemedo Tonito Willett (born 1 May 1953) is a former West Indian international cricketer who played in five Test matches in 1973 and 1974. He made his first-class debut for Leeward Islands in 1970–71 at the age of 17, and played his last ...

, the first Nevisian to play for 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 ...

. The renaming ceremony was a major event for the island, with several members of the island's administration participating, including the

Premier of Nevis The Premier of Nevis heads the Nevis Island Administration, an autonomous governing body within the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis. List of premiers of Nevis (1983-present) See also *List of prime ministers of Saint Kitts and Nevis *List o ...

Joseph Parry Joseph Parry (21 May 1841 – 17 February 1903) was a Welsh composer and musician. Born in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, he is best known as the composer of "Myfanwy" and the hymn tune "Aberystwyth", on which the African song "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" i ...

. Outside of cricket, the venue has hosted football and athletics tournaments at both national and regional levels.

Records

First-class

* Highest team total: 596 all out by

Leeward Islands french: Îles-Sous-le-Vent , image_name = , image_caption = ''Political'' Leeward Islands. Clockwise: Antigua and Barbuda, Guadeloupe, Saint kitts and Nevis. , image_alt = , locator_map = , location = Caribbean SeaNorth Atlantic Ocean , coor ...

, 2008/09 * Lowest team total: 67 all out by

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

v Leeward Islands, 1988/89 * Highest individual innings: 231 by

for Leeward Islands v Combined Campuses and Colleges, 2008/09 * Best bowling in an innings: 9/68 by

for

v Leeward Islands, 2000/01

List A

* Highest team total: 220 all out by Leeward Islands v

, 1993/94Leeward Islands v Windward Islands
Geddes Grant Shield 1993/94 – CricketArchive. Retrieved 18 May 2015. * Lowest team total: 124 all out by Leeward Islands v

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

, 1987/88, and also by Leeward Islands v Trinidad and Tobago, 1991/92Leeward Islands v Trinidad and Tobago
Geddes Grant/Harrison Line Trophy 1987/88 (Zone B) – CricketArchive. Retrieved 18 May 2015. * Highest individual innings: 80 by

Ridley Jacobs Ridley Detamore Jacobs (born 26 November 1967) is a former Antiguan cricketer, who played as a left-handed wicketkeeper batsman for the West Indian cricket team in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He was the first opening batsman to carry his bat ...

for Leeward Islands v Windward Islands, 1993/94 * Best bowling in an innings: 4/22 by

Casper Davis Casper Davis (born 14 March 1966) is a Vincentian cricketer who featured as a right arm fast bowler. He played in 40 first-class and 23 List A matches for the Windward Islands from 1991 to 1999. Davis picked up exactly 100 wickets at an averag ...

for Windward Islands v Leeward Islands, 1993/94

References

{{Reflist, 30em Cricket grounds in Saint Kitts and Nevis Football venues in Saint Kitts and Nevis Nevis Athletics (track and field) venues in Saint Kitts and Nevis