West Indies men's cricket team

The West Indies men's cricket team has been active since 1888. It is governed by Cricket West Indies (CWI), which is a Full Member of the International Cricket Council (ICC). The West Indies play all forms of international cricket: Test, One Day International (ODI), and Twenty20 International (T20I). 

Countries
For the purpose of cricket, the West Indies is a confederation of fifteen Caribbean countries who are all CWI members:
 Anguilla
 Antigua and Barbuda
 Barbados
 British Virgin Islands
 Dominica
 Grenada
 Guyana
 Jamaica
 Montserrat
 Saint Kitts and Nevis
 Saint Lucia
 Saint Maarten
 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
 Trinidad and Tobago
 United States Virgin Islands

Early days
The earliest known match involving a team called the West Indies took place on 5 January 1888. An American team called the Gentlemen of the United States of America had arrived in British Guiana, and a two-day match was arranged at the Bourda ground in Georgetown. It was completed on the first day, the Americans winning by nine wickets. The West Indies team included players from at least six different colonies.

An English team called Arthur Priestley's XI toured the Caribbean in 1896/97. This team consisted of players with first-class experience, including Andrew Stoddart and Sammy Woods. Nine of their sixteen matches were first-class. Eight of those were against Barbados (3), Jamaica (3), and Trinidad (2). The other was against West Indies at the Queen's Park Oval in Port-of-Spain from 15 to 17 February 1897. This was West Indies' first-class debut, and they won by three wickets. The team included wicket-keeper Lebrun Constantine, father of Learie Constantine.

References

Category:1888 establishments
Category:Cricket teams in the West Indies
Category:Men's international cricket teams
Category:Sport in the Caribbean
Category:Test cricket teams