For the inaugural 1965–66 season of the Shell Shield, the Leewards and Windwards associations together entered a "Combined Islands" team, an arrangement which persisted on and off until the 1981–82 season, when the associations began to consistently enter separate teams.[4] However, the Windwards still played regularly at first-class level during this time, against other West Indian domestic teams and touring international teams.[3] Since its re-entry into the main domestic first-class competition, the team has played every season,[5] although the team has never won the competition.[6] In total, the Leewards have played 229 first-class matches, winning 48, drawing 66, losing 115, and having eight matches abandoned.[7] Of these, 183 matches were played in the main West Indian domestic competition.[8] A total of 185 players have played at least one first-class match for the team since its debut.[9]
Note: where players have strong ties to multiple countries, both nationalities are listed. For at least one player during the early years of the team, information on place of birth and/or nationality is lacking. These players are marked .
List of players
Statistics only include first-class matches played for the Windward Islands, and are correct as of 14 June 2013:
Twenty-five players have captained the Windwards in at least one first-class match, with Grenadian Rawl Lewis' 69 matches between 2000 and 2009 the most of any one player.[note 2] Of the team's captains, seven were Dominican, four Grenadian, three Saint Lucian, eight Vincentian, two Barbadian and one (Wilf Slack) English, although Vincentian by birth.
^Dominica is geographically part of the Leeward Islands chain, but from 1940 was associated with the Windwards colony both politically and in cricketing terms. Barbados, although geographically part of the Windward Islands chain, was made a separate colony in 1885, and competes as a separate team in West Indian domestic cricket.
^The captains for three matches—during the 1960–61, 1986–87, and 2000 seasons—are unaccounted for.