‘It’s in the blood’: how Barbados became cricket’s ultimate hotspot

The island can stake a claim to be per capita one of the most productive cricketing, and sporting, nations in the world

West Indies v England at Kensington Oval is a special occasion that takes place on sacred ground; a country so lush by way of cricketing talent per head over the years, Barbados stands out as one of world sport’s most remarkable hotspots.

Before the roll call of great Barbadian cricketers spools down the page, first consider the numbers: with a population of 287,000, the new republic would sit fourth bottom were it ranked alongside England’s 48 counties, tucked between Herefordshire and Northumberland (with more palm trees than either). And yet this 21-miles-by-14-miles island, the most easterly in the Lesser Antilles, is the first in the Caribbean to produce more than a century of international cricketers.