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.

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 one of the Leeward Islands, but as it was part of the Windward Islands colony from 1940 until independence, 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. The Windwards have won a sum of four regional one day titles. With prominent cricketers who've played for the Windward Islands including Sunil Ambris, Cameron Cuffy, Casper Davis, Winston Davis, Delorn Johnson, Obed McCoy, Nixon McLean, Junior Murray, Darren Sammy, Shane Shillingford, Devon Smith, Wilf Slack and Kesrick Williams.

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.

Notable players
Prominent cricketers who have represented the Windward Islands include:
 * 🇻🇨 Mike Findlay
 * 🇻🇨 Winston Davis
 * 🇻🇨 Nixon McLean
 * 🇻🇨 Cameron Cuffy
 * 🇻🇨 Deighton Butler
 * 🇻🇨 Sunil Ambris
 * 🇻🇨 Kesrick Williams
 * 🇻🇨 Obed McCoy
 * 🇬🇩 Rawl Lewis
 * 🇬🇩 Junior Murray
 * 🇬🇩 Devon Smith
 * 🇬🇩 Andre Fletcher
 * 🇱🇨 Daren Sammy
 * 🇱🇨 Johnson Charles
 * 🇩🇲 Lockhart Sebastien
 * 🇩🇲 Irvine Shillingford
 * 🇩🇲 Shane Shillingford
 * 🇩🇲 Adam Sanford

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
 * National Cricket Stadium in Grenada
 * Daren Sammy Cricket Ground in Gros Islet, Saint Lucia.
 * Windsor Park in Roseau, Dominica
 * Mindoo Philip Park in Castries, Saint Lucia
 * Tanteen Recreation Ground in Grenada

The Mindoo Philip Park has not seen any first-class cricket since 2001, and has been replaced by the Darren Sammy Cricket Ground in Gros Islet.