Kent Pre-Season in Antigua...

After heading out to watch Kent in their pre-season trip to Antigua in 2017, when it was announced they would be a part of the Regional Super50's Tournament again in the Caribbean this year it was the perfect opportunity to get some very much needed winter sun.

Having been out to watch on my own last year, going with my mum and brother for a family holiday was something of a rarity in the last few years. Despite it being the 4th time in which I would be going to Antigua there's something about the island that continually draws you back in, the charm of the locals and the feel of the island never gets boring.

February 6th, 5:30am generally not a time that I should ever be setting an alarm for, however with the promise of the obligatory airport breakfast I don't think I've jumped out of bed so fast in a very long time. Airport security...a particularly interesting experience in which me or my brother regularly place bets on which one of us are going to get stopped for something however this time we both managed to get through unscathed and we were on our way.

Antigua is a particularly special place for me personally, having been at particularly difficult periods its always been somewhat of a relaxing escape, the pristine beaches do well to take your mind of just about everything. The last 3 visits I have always stayed in the South-West of the island in Jolly Harbour however this time we would be further north up the coast at Halcyon Cove in Dickenson Bay. Although there isn't any beaches in Antigua that are anything other than stunning the white sand and clear blue seas always leave you a little bit speechless.

One of my favourite things about visiting the Caribbean however strange it sounds is the jet lag. Waking up naturally at 6am everyday is possibly my favourite time of day as it gave me a chance to walk up and down the beach just as the sun was rising while nobody else was around (probably in bed like normal people would be on holiday) to relax and explore. The scenery is pretty breath-taking at the best of times but when the sea is calm and the sun is coming up it's difficult to experience something more beautiful.

Our first full day in Antigua would be the first game of cricket that we could get too. At this point it was Kent's 4th group game, they were well set in Group B where they had to play Guyana, Jamaica, Leeward Islands and USA twice in the hopes of finishing in the top two and qualifying for the semi-finals. Confidence was high as they had won the last 2 of the first 3 games against strong sides packed with high quality West Indian international players.

The forth game was against USA, held at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, I turned up to the ground under the illusion that maybe the USA team would have been the weakest in our group, myself along with other travelling fans we were sitting with were unsure of what the standard would be with USA being an emerging nation who hadn't played perhaps as much competitive cricket against strong oppositions. We were quickly proved wrong, they bowled first proving to be more than competent taking a couple of early wickets and making scoring anything but easy. Joe Denly was the main stay of Kent's line up, scoring 96 by forming partnerships with the remainder of the batsmen taking Kent up to a solid total of 215-9. Despite USA's bowlers restricting Kent, the batsmen often struggled to keep the scoring rate up when pressure was applied by the spinners, Imran Qayyum (2/42) and Adam Riley (3/36) with regular wickets were falling. The experience of their captain Khaleel (61) proved to be the main stay of the batting before they eventually fell 27 runs short.

We only had one day in between the next two games which meant only one thing, exploring the beach, reading our book around the pool and spending a little bit too much time eating the all inclusive food. Halcyon Cove where we were staying was the typical Caribbean resort, situated right on the beach front, ideal for a quiet getaway. As someone who looks forward to turning my phone off for the majority of the time im out of the country the slightly less than accessible limited Wi-Fi was perfect to completely switch off...even if I wasn't too popular ignoring people back home!

The next day was Kent's fifth game, this time a day/night game held at the Coolidge Ground against Guyana. Coolidge is my personal favourite ground in the Caribbean that I've been too its got a personality too it that you don't get at the massive stadiums. Kent off the back of 3 strong wins opted to bowl first and took full advantage of the momentum in their favour. Ivan Thomas and debutant Grant Stewart applied pressure and kept scoring to a minimum, with Grant removing ex West-Indian international Shivnerine Chanderpaul as his first wicket. However once Will Gidman was bought into the attack Kent hammered in the advantage taking four wickets in his first 4 overs in a career best spell off 4/20 reducing Guyana to 29-5. They began to rebuild the innings in hopes of setting a defendable targets but wickets from Grant Stewart (3/17) and Joe Denly (2/23) reduced them to an under par 158 all out. 

Kent's reply got off to a steady start with a solid opening partnership with all the batsmen chipping in down the order, Will Gidman once again top scored with 29* allowing Kent to chase down the score with 13 overs to spare despite international Devindra Bishoo picking up (4/35). A fourth consecutive win meant Kent went top of the Group B table sitting nicely for qualification.

 We had 3 full days before the next game which meant we were able to get out and see some of the different areas of the island. Shirley Heights is one place in Antigua I have heard so much about but never quite been able to get too. As someone who has a pretty unnatural obsession with sunsets its the perfect place to visit and couldn't help but convince my mum and brother that this time it was a must. Sundays are the day in which every tourist hopes to visit Shirley Heights, alongside the spectacular panoramic views over the English Harbour they put on quite a spectacle, with the traditional Caribbean steel drums playing and the array of foods cooking across BBQ's it was the perfect evening.

Our driver Adrian had made a point to us that he was going to pick us up earlier than was necessary in order to take us to another viewpoint around the corner from Shirley Heights that isn't as well known but no less remarkable...if the weather is clear. Throughout the whole 45 minute drive from the hotel it chucked it down, thunderous downpours and thick black cloud so the hope for the beautiful sunset was quickly vanishing, however Adrian promised us it was a passing shower that we did not need to worry about. When we reached the viewpoint thankfully the rain had stopped but we could see the cloud sweeping across the coastline and didn't have much time to get any pictures, I am however thankful that the wind was blowing inland or we may have ended up having an impromptu swim in sea while trying to get a picture of us clinging to the railings.

The rain finally cleared and we made our way round to Shirley Heights, where the view did not disappoint. Myself and my brother went right to the edge of the view where you look out across the seemingly endless harbour across the mountains at some of the biggest yachts I've seen. Our luck didn't last too long though the clouds came back and the rain returned, even though the clear sky didn't remain, being right on the coast meant you watched the cloud blow right down the coastline across the sea, one of the strangest but most fascinating things I have ever witnessed. 

Once that shower passed...again the sun began to set, even with the cloud and the less than warm temperature the sunset was still something I do feel lucky to have witnessed. Watching the sun disappear over the horizon in the most beautiful setting without doubt lived up to all the expectations, the rain and the cloud just gives me an excuse to go back again!

          

 These few days not spent at cricket being in and around the hotel meant we also met a few new people, its something I say every time I go away especially on cricket tours it gives you such an incredible opportunity to make new friends and meet likeminded people. I've met people on previous tours who don't always live close to me but have with no doubt made those weeks a lot more special and remained close friends ever since. Ironically one of the couples that we ended up talking to over lunch in the hotel had previously lived about 10 minutes from where we did at home which meant we had many a conversation about mutual friends and places making it feel as though we had always known them.

Kent's 6th game of the tournament was held back at Viv Richards Stadium, this time against Jamaica arguably one of the strongest teams in the competition, even after losing a couple of big names in their star studded line up they would be very stiff competition. Kent batted first on a slow looking wicket that wasn't offering much pace or bounce at all, Daniel Bell-Drummond paced his innings perfectly, with wickets falling at the other end he consistently rotated the strike until he was joined by Adam Rouse. He made light work of 75 off 59 balls regularly clearing the ropes, hitting boundaries every over getting Kent closer to a competitive target. In the 50th over Bell-Drummond reached his 100 off the penultimate ball of the innings finishing up on 105*, Kent ending up on 239-5.

Jamaica's reply got off too a shaky start, losing a wicket in the first over bowled by Ivan Thomas added pressure when they didn't have the likes of internationals Chris Gayle and Jermaine Blackwood in the line up. Wickets fell throughout the innings until Andre Russell stepped up and showed his class, stabilising the run rate and taking control until he began clearing the ropes more regularly lowing the runs required. Russell proved too good on the day hitting a 6 off the first ball of the last over getting his own milestone hundred and winning the game for Jamaica keeping their hopes of qualifying alive.

One of the most important things for me while travelling is speaking to the locals, you are able to get a much better perspective on the country by speaking to those who have lived there all their lives. Adrian who was a local taxi driver who worked out of the hotel and was highly recommended by the hotel as one of the friendliest there was. He was just that, going out of his way to ensure we go the best out of our holiday by informing us of local landmarks, parishes and facts about the island. He allowed us to ask him any questions in which we may have had and took us to places that were 'off the beaten track' of the typical tourist spots, making the holiday a little bit more personal and informative. 

We had one last day around the pool before the final game and flying home, which meant one thing...doing absolutely nothing. Myself and my brother spent the majority of the day either walking down the beach or playing catch in the pool all while getting horrendously sunburnt which seems to be a reoccurring theme for brit's abroad on the last day on sun especially when heading back to England where it was minus degrees and snowing.

The last evening was also my favourite for no other reason but the sunset. While I spent a good 45-60 minutes every night on holiday sitting in the same spot on my own watching the sunset taking in the calm sound of the waves and the for once warm evening air. The sunsets every evening were beautiful however there was something about the one the final colours, it was your typical Caribbean sunset, multiple colours watching the sun drop over the horizon, it really was the perfect end to what had been an incredible 10 days.

The day in which we would be flying home was also a game day for Kent. Having booked the 10pm flight home meant we were still able to get to the full game, Kent would be playing in the second to last group game against USA. Having beaten them in the game previously it may have been easier to believe the same result was a given although cricket has a funny way of throwing up surprises. Kent batted first and got off to a comfortable start however things took a turn for a worst and they found themselves 51-6 after not many overs and the possibility of qualifying slipping away. Callum Haggett and Grant Stewart built a partnership lasting over 20 overs slowly ticking over the score in the hopes of reaching a defendable score, both batsmen thoroughly deserved individual 50's however they fell for 42 and 44 respectively getting Kent up to a total of 172-9.

USA's openers got off to a very stable start scoring easy runs against the quicker paced bowlers and keeping up with the required run rate. Once Imran Qayyum and James Tredwell were bought into the attack batting seemed much harder on the slow paced turning wicket making runs seem difficult to come by and a steadily increasing run rate. Imran Qayyum finished with figures of 4/33 off his 10 overs taking the heart of the USA line up even with resistance from the middle order batsmen, once those wickets had fallen and the openers were bought back on the remaining tail end wickets fell and USA fell 30 runs short. As a spectator I've watched a fair share of close games that have gone down to the wire but knowing how much qualification was riding on that game meant we breathed quite a sigh of relief once getting back to the hotel that we had come off on the right side of the result.

This game bought us to the end of our 10 day trip watching Kent, having seen 4 games and 3 wins it was far more successful than when I came out to watch in 2017. The opportunity to watch cricket in a country as beautiful as Antigua is something I will always be so grateful for alongside the people we met and the things that we saw. Hopefully they are a part of the Super50 tournament next year and it gives me another excuse for a much needed break of winter sun!