Barbados

Map

Season
Main cricket season runs from November to May

When to go
The best time is during the cooler, drier months of late winter and early spring (February to May)

Foreign Office Information
Click Here
UK passport holders do not need visas to enter Barbados for visits up to 6 months

Pros
Very used to dealing with foreign visitors - especially the British - and a typical West Indian welcome awaits. An active club scene provides a reasonable choice of opposition

Cons
Crime and some dangerous rum

Contacts
Barbados Tourist Board
Barbados - Lonely Planet guide

British High Commission
Lower Collymore Rock
PO Box 676
Bridgetown
Website

Barbados High Commission
1 Great Russell Street
London
WC1B 3NH

General
Barbados has a population of just over 275,000 and almost the same number of British people visit each year. When England play the country transforms itself into Little England.

Grounds
The Kensington Oval staged its last international match when West Indies played Pakistan in May 2005 before it was demolished and rebuilt ahead of the 2007 World Cup. There will be no international cricket there for the next two seasons. But plenty of smaller club grounds exist. Pickwick, the club who were a staple of any tour, no longer play at Kensington Oval.

Opposition
Very active club scene and used to organising fixtures for touring sides. But demand is high so plan ahead.

Entertainment
Barbados is not short of nightlife, with most of the venues located in St Lawrence Gap and along Carlisle Bay.

Conclusion
Possibly the most famous of the Caribbean islands and is hugely popular with British clubs and is a superb location for a cricket tour. If you plan to tour while England are in town prices will he high and demand for fixtures even higher so it may be worth considering touring at the end of the international season.