Snobbery and undiscovered potential: The story of cricket in Saint Lucia

The Caribbean is known for its love of cricket, the small island of Saint Lucia is no different. Despite this passion only one Saint Lucian has ever played test cricket, the man the national stadium is named after, Daren Sammy.  

As the sun sets over the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground in Gros Islet, Saint Lucia 25 young cricketers pile into the back of a pick-up truck after their training session. This may seem unusual, but it is a daily occurrence on the cricket mad Caribbean Island.  

Whilst Saint Lucia is seen as a glamorous holiday destination the reality for some of its population is far from that image, according to UNICEF 25% of Saint Lucia’s people live in poverty. 

This has left the country often relying on volunteers and charities to help grow sport on the island.  

Joël Martin is the Caribbean Director of United Through Sport, a charity that provides coaching in a wide range of sports in schools across the island as well as working with local grassroots teams. 

He said: “Cricket in Saint Lucia, especially at the school and community level, is heavily reliant on volunteers and charity organisations. Paid coaching roles are relatively rare so programmes like United Through Sport play a critical role in keeping cricket alive and accessible, especially in under resourced areas.” 

Passion for sport on the island isn’t just confined to cricket. Amongst other sports, football and athletics enjoy huge popularity in Saint Lucia. 

Sam Greenbank has volunteered coaching a number of sports in schools and with local teams on the island.  

He said: “The children were always really enthusiastic, especially the younger kids. They really love their sport but there isn’t as much organisation so it is just about trying to get the basics across.” 

Despite this fervour for cricket and wider sport in Saint Lucia, very few people are able to make a career out of their passion.  

Machel Hewitt, co-founder of the Caribbean cricket podcast, said: “There are more financial concerns for people in Saint Lucia. If I’m someone from Saint Lucia I’m not from a wealthy family and I’ve got a part time job but to become elite at cricket I’ve got to probably jack in that job. I can’t afford to do that because I’m not getting paid to play cricket.” 

Sammy won 38 Test match caps for the West Indies after making his debut against England in 2007. The all-rounder also captained his country to two T20 World Cup titles and is now head coach of the West Indies men’s side.  

As one of the smallest islands in the Caribbean, Saint Lucia are unable to have their own side in the West Indies’ domestic competitions, instead they are part of the Windward Islands alongside Dominica, Grenada and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.  

Hewitt said: “I think when you are from a smaller island there’s sense of snobbery from the bigger nations to those who come from smaller nations. 

“Even Daren Sammy, who’s a two-time world cup winner and former West Indies captain, has people questioning his coaching credentials. I think that’s because he’s from a small island. If he was from Jamaica, Barbados or Trinidad no one is questioning his coaching credentials.” 

Alongside Sammy’s appointment as head coach of the men’s national team, the president of West Indies cricket comes from the Windward Islands after Kishore Shallow of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines was elected to the role in 2023. 

“There’s almost a sneering and snobbery to the West Indies being led by small islanders. People say ‘what do they really know about cricket?’. That’s the kind of cultural politics you have to navigate when you come from one of the smaller nations,” Hewitt said.  

One area where Saint Lucia has excelled beyond its means in recent years is in the women’s West Indies side.  

Saint Lucians Qiana Jospeh and Zaida James both featured in the West Indies side that took on Scotland earlier this week. 

“It helps the women’s game is in its infancy and has been quite stagnant in the region in recent years. I think in the women’s game everyone is on more of a level playing field. So if you are a woman that shows any level of aptitude you’ve got a good chance of making the West Indies team irrespective of where you are from. 

“It’s not like the men’s stuff where you’ve got the four established nations and most of the players are going to come from those four nations,” Hewitt said.  

Despite struggling to get selected for the senior men’s West Indies side, players from Saint Lucia are no strangers to representing their country in youth cricket. 

In recent years the likes of Tarrique Edward and Kimani Melius have featured in under-19 World Cups, with the latter even captaining the West Indies in 2020 edition of the tournament.  

However since those tournaments both players have struggled to play regular cricket for the Windward Islands. 

Hewitt said: “In the Caribbean everyone knows that there’s talent for days, certainly up through the age groups. Then when they hit that under-19 World Cup something happens. They come back and they’re professional now and they’re trying to make their way into their domestic side. 

“But what happens if your team has a bunch of experienced guys and you are just a potentially talented 19-year-old, how do you get into that side? What tends to happen then is a lot of them just fall to the wayside because there isn’t proper developmental system.” 

It is no surprise then that Saint Lucia has also struggled with developing players after they graduate from age group cricket into the senior game.  

Jeandell Cyril, who has represented Saint Lucia in youth cricket, said: “It’s great training every day when you are young but it becomes tough after you leave age group cricket. It is starting to get better now with the introduction of a semi-professional league.” 

In an attempt to give their players from small islands a chance to play more cricket the West Indies have started a new T20 tournament for young players.  

In the new competition teams can only pick two players over the age of 25, as well as not being able to call upon any West Indies internationals.  

“A lot of people are actually applauding the West Indies for this initiative because they’re slowly but surely starting to recognise the gap is between 19 to 25 where players are disappearing into some kind of Bermuda triangle,” Hewitt said.