What constitutes "West Indies"?

[sphanlon]

I'm new to the game and was wondering what is the West Indies as far as cricket national team building is concerned. There is a separate team Bermuda. Why isn't the whole Caribbean West Indies? Why aren't there separate teams for every island nation or island group country? I understand not every individual place could field a competitive team, but some, like Jamaica, really could. It almost seems unfair because it's like a whole region's all-star team. And what about Guyana? That's mainland South America.

 

[Sureshot]

The current side represents the now independent states of Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago, and the British dependencies of Anguilla, Montserrat, British Virgin Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Wikipedia.org

It's quite an unusual situation, not found in many sports (if any?) and you're not the first newbie to cricket to get confused by it.

The history of the West Indies cricket team begins in the 1890s, when the first representative sides were selected to play visiting English sides. Administered by the West Indies Cricket Board ("WICB"),[1] and known colloquially as The Windies, the West Indies cricket team represents a sporting confederation of English-speaking Caribbean countries.

wikipedia.org

Guyana is included because it was a British speaking colony.

If I've missed anything I'm sure someone will correct me, probably Andrew Nixon, he's good on this kind of stuff.

 

[andrew_nixon]

If I've missed anything I'm sure someone will correct me, probably Andrew Nixon, he's good on this kind of stuff.

You got it pretty much spot on, except the US Virgin Islands aren't a British overseas territory (they're a US one). It also include ST Maarten, a Dutch overseas territory.

It is an unusual one, and one not likely to be repeated, as current ICC rules prevent any new members joining forces in this way.

 

[Leicester Fox]

Only in cricket....it's a funny old game

 

[Kev]

Personally I'd rather we had a West Indies team than a series of lesser teams. Watching them (along with Botham) got me interested in cricket in the first place.

 

[Sureshot]

Yep, think of all the greats who undoubtedly wouldn't have played at Test or ODI level. Most of the countries they comprise of are/must be smaller than any other nation in Test/ODI and many of associate level. If you were to break them down, anyhow.