BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - IN a Federation that boasts seven cricketers who has played for the West Indian side and all coming from Nevis, the smaller of the two islands, the question many cricket enthusiasts are asking is when will a Kittitian play for the regional side.
The likes of Elquemedo Willett, Keith Arthurton , Stuart Williams, Derek Parry, Carl Tuckett, the late Runako Morton and the young Kieran Powell have all graced the highest level for the regional side, but all have hailed from Nevis, giving them the record as producing the most international cricketers per capita.
In St. Kitts however, a number of cricketers came close to playing for the regional side but were never able to break the island’s duck.
Edgar Gilbert, Noel Guishard, Victor Eddy and Luther Kelly have been described as those from St. Kitts who came closest to making it in the West Indies team, and in some quarters it was said that they were at times unfairly treated.
Edgar Gilbert is described by many as the best all-rounder during his time, only behind the legendary Sir Garfield Sobers, but he only played in 11 first class games during his career.
Victor Eddy and Luther Kelly both played in an era when the West Indies dominated cricket globally and boasted a very strong batting order. Being an opening batsman Kelly’s performances were often overlooked due to the fact that West Indies boasted one of the greatest opening partnerships to ever play in the game in Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes.
Eddy, on the other hand, failed to break through with individuals such as Clive Lloyd, Viv Richards, Larry Gomes and Richie Richardson who were all middle order batsmen playing for the regional side.
Noel Guishard was the first ever cricketer in the Caribbean to have scored 1 000 runs and bagged 100 wickets, but he was even at times overshadowed for selection into the Leeward Island’s set up much less for the regional side.
In recent years however, a number of young cricketers have shown potential at a young age but have not converted their prospects at a level to force their way into the West Indies side.
Cricketers such as Codville Rogers, Shane Jeffers, Junie Mitchum and Steve Liburd are amongst a group of players who showed potential at young ages but have never cemented a place in the Leeward Island’s team.
Codville Rogers has been described as a tall and lankily built left-handed batsman, who is a natural stroke maker, possesses the sort of timing and finesse comparable to top-flight players, especially when playing with a vertical blade.
In a game against the England test team on their 2009 tour of the West Indies, his two half-centuries for the St. Kitts-Nevis Invitational XI left many spectators, a few journalists and perhaps some of the English players wondering why he was not selected to play in an underperforming Leeward Islands team in the regional first class competition.
Rogers, in 2012, was diagnosed with Lymphoma, a type of cancer, and he has since announced his retirement from competitive cricket, stating his desire to only play the game for the fun of it.
Shane Jeffers has been one of the most talked about Kittitian batsman in recent years and has played for a West Indies B team, but has failed to keep a consistent place in the Leeward’s team because of his inconsistent performances.
The same sentiments can be shared for Steve Liburd who showed promise at a young age and is a product of the West Indies development programme. He has impressed at each age-group level from West Indies Under-15 to the Academy. In 2000, he was vice-captain of the West Indies Under-15 team that won the Cost Cutter U15 World Cup Challenge, where he hit the winning run. As a closer catcher, very few can match his brilliance. He often fields at second slip where his catching is as safe as any central bank's vault.
Junie Mitchum was once classed with West Indian great Shivnarine Chanderpaul, but on occasions was robbed of an opportunity to play first class cricket. He was however given a chance to do so but did not fulfilled his potential.
The hopes of a Kittitian playing on the regional side now lies in young cricketers such as Akeem Saunders, Tashmail Mills and the current island’s captain, Jacques Taylor.
Akeem Saunders has already represented the West Indies at Under 15 and 19 levels.
Tashmail Mills has played for Leeward Islands at the Under 19 level and recently had a fruitful summer while playing semi-professional cricket, scoring over 500 runs.
And Taylor has enjoyed spells with the Leeward Islands but has not become a fixture in the team.
Despite not ever having a representative on the West Indies team, a Kittitian was however selected to play the game at the test level.
He is Joey Benjamin, who was born in Christ Church, and in 1994 he played one test for England at the age of 33. His selection was described as a surprise choice for the third Test against South Africa at his home ground, The Oval.
His action, a whirl of arms and energy, lay somewhere between Gladstone Small and Dominic Cork, while his batting was based on the principle of hit out or get out.
St. Kitts however has a first in Richard Berridge who currently serves on the West Indies team as a support staff.
