Several thousand English cricket fans journeyed to the Caribbean island of Barbados with the aim of witnessing England prevail in the first Test (January 23—27) of their 2019 Cricket Tour against the West Indies.   The hopes of the English tourists were quickly dashed, however, as England instead suffered a 381-run rout at the hands a West Indies squad whose bowlers and batsmen were so dominant, that it flashed images of the West Indies cricket dynasty era spanning the mid ’70s to early ’90s.  The site of the carnage from England’s vantage point was the famous Kensington Oval Cricket Ground in Bridgetown—which is located not too far from Barbados’ picturesque turquoise water and sun-kissed white sand beaches.

Aside from the cricket action, the carnival atmosphere at the Kensington Oval was certainly a treat in it being a mix of sun, sea, water, sand, food and cocktails.   In that spirit, the Oval’s party stand was a major attraction as flocks of English cricket supporters ate, drank, tanned, and splashed about in the pool—whilst energetically gyrating themselves to the DJ’s selections of soca and reggae music during pauses in the competition on the cricket pitch.   But without having to get into the nitty gritty of all the happenings at the Oval, the images below seek to illustrate the action.   Following Barbados, England would move on with its ‘Barmy Army’ clan of fans in tow to Antigua (January 31 —February 4) and then St. Lucia (February 9—13) for the second and third Tests, respectively, against the West Indies.

Photos by Nick Ford, who lives and works in South Florida.