May 5, 1928: The West Indies Cricket Team Debuts

Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados

May 5, 1928: The West Indies Cricket Team competes for the 1st time, in a "test match" against Derbyshire Cricket Club, at the County Ground in Derby. Playing on this day, and on the 7th and the 8th, West Indies win by 2 wickets.

The first combined West Indian team was formed in the 1880s, and toured Canada and the United States. In the 1890s, the first representative sides were selected to play visiting English sides.

Administered by the West Indies Cricket Board ("WICB"), and known colloquially as The Windies, the team represents a sporting confederation of English-speaking Caribbean countries. Despite the British influence, these countries prefer cricket to soccer; and, despite their proximity to America and its radio broadcasts, because of the British influence, these countries prefer cricket to baseball.

Although blessed with some great players in their early days as a Test nation, their successes remained sporadic until the 1960s, by which time the side had changed from a white-dominated to a black-dominated side. By the late 1970s, the West Indies had a side recognized as unofficial world champions, a title they retained throughout the 1980s. Their team from the 1970s and 1980s is now widely regarded as having been one of the best in test cricket's history.

During these glory years, the Windies were noted for their four-man fast bowling attack, backed up by some of the best batsmen in the world, including Sir Garfield "Gary" Sobers, who starred for them from 1954 to 1974, and from 1965 onward as Captain. With all due respect to singer Rihanna, Sir Garfield remains the most famous person ever to come from Barbados.

The 1980s saw them set a then-record streak of 11 consecutive Test victories in 1984, which was part of a still-standing record of 27 tests without defeat (the other tests being draws), as well as inflicting two 5–0 "blackwashes" against the old enemy of England.

Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, however, West Indian cricket declined, in part due to the rise in popularity of track & field and soccer in West Indian countries, and the team today is struggling to regain its past glory.

The current side represents the now independent states of, in alphabetical order: Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago; the British dependencies of Anguilla, Montserrat, and the British Virgin Islands; and the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Dutch "country" of St. Maarten. The most common home ground for the team is the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados, named for the ground of the same name in South London.

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May 5, 1928 was a Saturday. This was also the day that Dixie Dean completed a season in which he scored 60 goals in Football League play, leading Liverpool-based team Everton F.C. to the League title. I have a separate entry for that event.

These baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Chicago White Sox, 7-0 at Yankee Stadium. George Pipgras pitched a 6-hit shutout. Babe Ruth went 0-for-3, but drew 2 walks. Lou Gehrig went 1-for-3 with an RBI.

* The New York Giants lost to the Cincinnati Reds, 11-3 at Redland Field in Cincinnati. (The ballpark was later renamed Crosley Field.) Mel Ott went 2-for-5 with an RBI.

* The Brooklyn Dodgers (or the Robins, as they were known while Wilbert Robinson managed them from 1914 to 1931) beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 3-2 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. Watson Clark outpitched future Hall-of-Famer Jesse Haines. Del Bissonette and Harry Riconda hit home runs.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Boston Red Sox, 5-4 at Fenway Park in Boston.

* The Philadelphia Athletics beat the Detroit Tigers, 6-5 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. Ty Cobb, playing for the A's against his former team, went 2-for-5. Tris Speaker, also wrapping up his career with the A's, went 2-for-4 with a home run, a walk and 2 RBIs.

* The Washington Senators beat the St. Louis Browns, 6-5 at Griffith Stadium in Washington.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Boston Braves, 6-2 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Paul Waner went 1-for-4, and Lloyd Waner went 3-for-4. For the Braves, Rogers Hornsby went 1-for-4 with a walk and an RBI.

* And the Chicago Cubs beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-1 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

Although it was the 1st Saturday in May, which is the traditional date of the running of the Kentucky Derby, that was not yet traditional. In 1928, the Derby was run on May 19, and Reigh Count won it. His son, Count Fleet, won the Triple Crown in 1943.