Rich history, Guyana ( British Guiana ) participated in first regional game
• Kanhai, Lloyd, Harper & Hooper were outstanding
By Sean Devers
Kaieteur News
January 5, 2007
As Guyana seek regional glory in the 2007 cricket season, Kaieteur Sport looks at the rich tradition over the years with the current national team will hope to continue and add their names to the annals the game in the Caribbean.
The first first-class cricket match between West Indies colonies was played in 1865 between Barbados and British Guiana (re-named Guyana in May 1966) at the Garrison Savannah in Barbados, but the game had been played in the Caribbean for almost half a century by then.
By 1900, a triangular series was being held between British Guiana , Barbados , and Trinidad but transport between the islands remained the major obstacle to expansion and it wasn't until after the Second World War when air transport became readily available that Jamaica began to play regular games against other islands.
Between 1896 and 1946 Jamaica , the most Northern of the Caribbean Islands , played only 11 regional matches.
In 1966 a domestic competition, the Shell Shield, named after Shell Oil, was launched with five teams: Barbados , British Guiana, Combined Islands , Trinidad & Tobago and Jamaica participating. In 1982 Combined Islands were replaced by Leeward Islands and Windward Islands although these two sets of islands had been playing against each other in the competition since in the 1960s.
In fact Trinidad beat Leeward/ Windwards combined side by 9 wickets at the Queens Park Oval in Port of Spain in March 1955, while the Leewards' first match in the West Indies 1st class cricket was against Jamaica at Melbourne Park in Kingston in 1958.
Rohan Kanhai, Clive Lloyd, Roger Harper and Carl Hooper are the only captains to lead Guyana to championship honours in regional first-class cricket with Lloyd, Harper and Hooper each achieving the feat twice.
One-day cricket has been a feature of West Indies cricket since 1973 when a knock-out tournament took place between inaugural winners Barbados , Guyana , Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago . After a three-year break, a more formal tournament - the Gillette Cup - was set up and the Leeward Islands and Windward Islands were added to the quartet.
Guyana, the defending KFC Cup regional one-day champions, have won the limited overs title nine times since their first one-day title was achieved in 1980.
No regional 50-overs competition was held in 2006 and both the Carib Beer four-day first-class and KFC Cup 50-overs tournaments will be played simultaneously in the 2007 season, which commences today with the Carib Beer opener.
Guyana added to the pages of local history by winning the 2006 inaugural Stanford regional 20/20 title in Antigua .
Regional first-class champions since 1966
Shell Shield -
1966 Barbados (G. Sobers)
1967 Barbados (G. Sobers)
1968 No competition
1969 Jamaica (E. Mc Morris)
1970 Trinidad (M. Carew)
1971 Trinidad (M. Carew)
1972 Barbados (D. Holford)
1972- 73 Guyana (R. Kanhai)
1973- 74 Barbados (D. Holford)
1975 Guyana (C. Lloyd)
1976 Trinidad/ Barbados (P. Bartholemew & D. Holford)
1977 Barbados (D. Holford)
1978 Barbados (V. Holder)
1979 Barbados (D. Holford)
1980 Barbados (A. Padmore)
1981 Combined islands (I.V.A Richards)
1982 Barbados (A. Padmore)
1983 Guyana (C. Lloyd)
1984 Barbados (C. Best)
1985 Trinidad & Tobago (R. Nanan)
1986 Barbados (J. Garner)
1987 Guyana (R.Harper)
Red Stripe Cup -
1988 Jamaica (M. Tucker)
1989 Jamaica (M. Tucker)
1990 Leeward Islands (I.V.A Richards)
1991 Barbados (D. Haynes)
1992 Jamaica (C. Walsh)
1993 Guyana (R. Harper)
1994 Leeward Islands (R. Richardson)
1995 Barbados (C. Browne)
1996 Leeward Islands (D. Browne)
1997 Barbados (P. Wallace)
President's Cup
1998 Leeward Islands/ Guyana (S. Williams & C. Hooper)
Busta Cup -
1999 Barbados (R. Holder)
2000 Jamaica (J. Adams)
2001 Barbados (S. Campbell) ( Jamaica took Busta Int. Shield)
2002 Jamaica ( Guyana , led by Hooper , took 1st innings points from Jamaica to win Busta International Shield)
Carib Beer Cup -
2003 Barbados (C. Browne) (B'dos also took Carib Beer Int trophy)
2004 Barbados (C. Browne) (B'dos also took Carib Beer Int trophy)
2005 Jamaica (W. Hinds)
2005/06 Trinidad 7 Tobago (D. Ganga) (T&T also took Carib Beer Challenge trophy)
Regional one-day champions:
Banks Cup -
1973- Barbados
Gillette Cup -
1976- Barbados
1977- Barbados
Geddes Grant/ Harrison Line Trophy -
1978- Leeward Islands/Jamaica
1979- Trinidad and Tobago
1980- Guyana
1981- Trinidad and Tobago
1982- Leeward Islands
1983 - Guyana
1984- Jamaica
1985 - Guyana
1986- Jamaica
1986- Jamaica
1987- Barbados
Geddes Grant Shield -
1988-Barbados
1989- Windward Islands
1990- Trinidad and Tobago
1991- Jamaica
1992- Trinidad and Tobago
1993- Guyana/Leeward Islands
1994- Leeward Islands
Shell/Sandals Trophy -
1995- Trinidad and Tobago/Guyana
Red Stripe Bowl -
1996- Trinidad and Tobago
1997- Leeward Islands
1998- Guyana
1999- Jamaica
2000- Windward Islands
2001- Guyana
2002- Barbados
2003 - Guyana
President's Cup -
2004- Trinidad and Tobago
KFC Cup -
2005- Guyana