Antigua...

If flying to India on my own was challenge enough only a couple of months later I last minute decided to take it one step further by going away for the whole week on my own...definitely the best decision that I have ever made.

Having not been to Antigua for 3 years I was intrigued as to what may have changed or how much of the island I remembered, so when touching down at the V. C. Bird International Airport into the newly renovated terminal it felt as though I was somewhere I had never been before. From seeing the terminal in construction as almost a pile of rubble on our family holiday in 2014 it was quite surprising walking through the tunnel when getting off the plane rather than stepping off and having to walk across the runway.

The purpose for this trip however wasn't just a relaxing week sitting on the beach sunning myself. Kent CCC my local county were partaking in a Regional Super50 tournament where they would be competing in Group A against Leeward Islands Hurricanes, Trinidad & Tobago Red Force, West Indies u19's and Windward Islands Volcanoes. They would play each team twice in the group stages with the hopes of qualifying for the knock out rounds of the competition.

By the time I had arrived in Antigua, Kent had already played the opening 4 games in the group stages starting very promisingly with a loss in the first game followed by 2 strong wins, however the loss too West Indies u19's in the forth game seemingly knocked the wind out of their sails for the upcoming matches.

Saturday 4th February the day in which I landed was Kent's 5th game played at Coolidge Cricket Ground against Leeward Islands Hurricanes made up of players predominantly  from British Virgin Islands, St Martin, St Kitts, Antigua and Monserrat. Having beaten Leewards in the second fixture Kent would have been optimistic they could continue the form under the lights in front of the largest crowd they were likely to play for. Leewards posted what would require a strong run chase a score of 275-9 in their 50 overs with the pick of Kent's bowlers being Matt Coles (4/52) and Calum Haggett (2/55). The openers Daniel Bell-Drummond and Sean Dickson started promisingly however with a couple of quick wickets Kent found themselves 60-4 and in need of a good partnership to get them back in the game. A patient 40 run partnership between Will Gidman and Alex Blake who top scored with 44 gave Kent fans hope of reaching the target. However wickets once again fell in a cluster and even a lower order cameo from Matt Coles of 27 off 16 balls wasn't enough to get over the line with them eventually being bowled out for 169.

I had 3 days in between that game and the next match that would be played and took it as an opportunity to see more of the area in which I was staying. Jolly Harbour located on the Western Coast of Antigua, a small harbour village with plenty to see and lots to visit. The hotel in which I was staying at was situated on the main Jolly Beach, with clear blue seas and pristine white sand and jet lag having me up way earlier than may be deemed acceptable walking down an empty beach a 6.30am didn't seem quite so bad.

           

Once the sun had risen and entirely to much all inclusive breakfast had been eaten I had a walk down into the harbour. Although relatively small there are quite a lot of small boutique souvenir shops or restaurants and cafes run by Caribbean locals which are fascinating to look around and talk to the locals who don't seem to be all that used too tall blonde girls randomly walking in so they are more than up for chatting to you.

    

   

One of my favourite things about staying in Jolly Beach, although an all inclusive hotel you also have the option of dining in on site restaurants to have a change from the buffet that is served every evening. With 3 different restaurants we endeavoured to try each of them before our departure. Lydia's was one of the most highly requested fish restaurants by anyone who has visited the hotel, ideally situated just off the beach looking out to the sea offered a tranquil setting but it meant trying to book a table was always going to be difficult, however getting up early to queue didn't seem so bad when jet lag had us up at the crack of dawn anyway. Bocciolos's the Italian on site was also highly recommended with an exceptional quality of food and a much more 'formal' setting. The last being a Mexican although we weren't able to try that one ourselves it also received rave reviews even after only being open a week!

         

Lastly every evening the hotel animation staff put on entertainment for the guests varying every day. Ranging from your standard karaoke to a party on the beach packed full of traditional Caribbean dancing, the limbo and fire dancers. The entertainment is the perfect way to enjoy a few cocktails in the evening while giving anyone in the audience the opportunity to participate if they wish in an ideal setting surrounded by other holiday makers.

My fourth day saw Kent's 6th game of the tour, this time played at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground, Antigua's international stadium. This game seemingly held a lot more importance and had our chances of qualification riding on it. Trinidad and Tobago were the opposition for the day, arguably one of the much stronger teams in the group, after losing the toss and being asked to bat first the top order had fallen to 40-3 after just 15 overs. Resistance from Will Gidman who developed 50 partnerships with both Darren Stevens (38) and Alex Blake (36) after registering his first List A 50 helped to get up to a total that they would have a good chance at defending if they bowled well.

Opening the bowling in aim to defend 194 Matt Coles and Matt Hunn both bowled tightly not making it easy for the Trinidad openers however once West Indies internationals Jason Mohammed (78*) and Dinesh Ramdin (56) got settled the Kent bowlers struggled to break the partnership and guided their team home with 8 overs to spare, Darren Stevens being the pick of Kent's bowlers with figures of 3/34.

     

 That evening once back at the hotel, the evening entertainment was a traditional steel band who were playing every hit song that you could think of in the most authentic Caribbean manner in the background for everyone eating dinner.

The last full day in the Caribbean for me was the penultimate group game for Kent, once again back at the Coolidge Cricket Ground against opponents Windwards Islands a team made up of players from Dominica, Martinique, St Lucia, St Vincent and Grenada. No longer being in the running for qualification Kent had the opportunity to rotate the team and play a couple of players who hadn't played in the previous few games, which got off to a positive start with Sam Northeast winning the toss and electing to bat first. Even though Daniel Bell-Drummond and new opener for this game Adam Ball had reached 21-0 with relative ease it quickly took a turn for the worst with the top order slumping to 35-5 with posting a challenging total seeming a long way in the distance. Once again Will Gidman (94) proved his strength in technique batting sensibly alongside Adam Rouse (40) to try and rebuild the innings both of them amounting career best scores respectively in a 104 run partnership...the timing could not have been better. The tail enders added invaluable runs in relative short time, Calum Haggett striking 22 got the Spitfires up to a respectable total of 205.

Ivan Thomas back into the side for this fixture alongside Haggett opened the bowling keeping the batsmen under pressure, limiting the run scoring and removing the West Indies international Johnston Charles cheaply in the 3rd over, however an unbroken 50 partnership between Devon Smith and Kavem Hodge soon transferred the pressure back onto the bowlers who were unable to break the flow of runs enough to expose the lower order. A flurry of late wickets didn't stop Windward's from eventually winning the game with 13 balls to spare.

      

 Sunday would be Kent's final competitive game in the Regional50 tournament, ending the campaign with a win over West Indies u19's. Despite the disappointment of not being able to qualify the overall experience of playing in a competitive competition in overseas conditions could only stand them in good stead for the upcoming English season.

 Even though the results as a Kent fan may not have gone as well as I would have liked, there isn't a better cricket watching destination than the Caribbean for the relaxing atmosphere away from the cricket on the beaches and the friendly locals to the scenic grounds dotted around the island.