U13 Cricket Tour to Antigua

During the Easter holidays, after all the planning, preparation and fund-raising, a excited party of 14 boys and 3 staff, Mr Rice, Mr Johnson and Mr Horne, boarded a plane bound for the Caribbean island of Antigua for the eagerly awaited cricket tour..  It did not disappoint!

On landing at the VC Bird airport we were met by our guide for the tour, who was known as ‘Shipwreck’, who took us to our all inclusive hotel, the Jolly Beach Resort, where were welcomed with the famous Caribbean iced punch. 

The next week was spent relaxing, training, playing cricket and travelling around the island either by four wheeled jeep or on a catamaran. During these days we saw where Sir Vivian Richards grew up and the newly built the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium. We drove to Shirley Heights, which used to be one of Antigua’s most important defensive positions, from where we had picturesque views over ‘English Harbour’ and Antigua’s graceful and evocative historic district of Nelsons Dockyard. Houses of the rich and famous and lots of banana trees.

Our first match was against Evergreen at the wicket at the hotel. The match was a good challenge for the boys. After losing our first wicket with only one run on the board I was a little bit worried! An excellent second wicket stand of 69 between Richard Smithers (29) and Ashil Shah (39) set the base for a score of 111 for 4 off 20 overs. In reply the Antiguans set about the run chase in true Caribbean style but were thwarted by some accurate bowling which kept the opposition behind the run rate. A 5th wicket stand of 48 took them to 80 for 4 after the 20 overs giving NP a 31 run victory. During the game 8 bowlers were used and the boy started to become accustomed to the heat.

For all of us the most memorable occasion was when we played Technical Academy at the world famous Recreation Ground. This ground is steeped with history. It is where Sir Viv Richards struck the fastest hundred in Test cricket, 56 balls, against England in 1986. Then in 1994 Brian Lara scored a world record 375 increasing this in 2004, again against England, to 400 not out and in 2003 the West Indies chased down 418 in the fourth innings of a Test against Australia. It was here that we met the West Indian legend Curtly Ambose who happily signed autographs for the boys and gave a short team talk.
The boys soaked up the atmosphere before going into bat to face the type of bowling associated with the great West Indies teams. Fast!! They stood up well to the task and finished on 97 for 5 after 25 overs. Ashil Shah (37) was the team’s top scorer. In reply the Technical School of Cricket initially started quickly punishing any lose ball but were slowed down and only overhauled our total after 20 overs. This was another good performance and the whole team had the opportunity to say that they have played on the Recreation Ground.

Our third match against Liberta was unfortunately rained off but the next day all was bright again so we played our final game against Clare Hall at the Rising Sun ground. This ground was near the main harbour and you could see four cruise ships docked whilst playing or spectating. We batted first and on a good track with a fast outfield we managed to score 144 for 7 in our 25 overs with Yaajan hitting the first 6 of the tour and Ashil (59) scoring the first 50 of the tour. In reply the opposition, who are coached by Winston Benjamin, another ex West Indies international cricketer, sent in their 'pinch hitters' and raced the score along at a brisk 7 an over. To the credit the boys kept at it and Rupinder managed to tie them down bowling 5 overs for only 9 runs and taking 2 wickets. All the other bowlers then chipped in with wickets and we managed to bowl them out for 124. A fantastic match and a fitting way to end the tour matches.

After checking in at the airport for our flight to the UK we went across to the Stanford Cricket Ground, the home of 20/20 cricket, and saw the ‘Sticky Wicket’ restaurant. Another memorable moment.
Just as we were going through the security to say goodbye to this wonderful island, 'Shipwreck' who appears to know everyone on the island, introduced us to the Antiguan Prime Minister, Baldwin Spencer, who happened to be at the airport. What a way to end this wonderful experience and opportunity of a lifetime for all the members of the touring party.
ITCR