With so many cricketers and cricket fanatics in the building, you'd have thought we were in Sabina Park or the Queen's Park Oval.

But the suits and ties would be a dead giveaway that this was no cricket match. Instead, it was a ceremony to mark five important milestones in the history of West Indies cricket. The packed ballroom of The Jamaica Pegasus hotel saw the Jamaica Cricket Association and the West Indies Cricket Board coming together to celebrate the quintet of kudos.

They are: the 100th anniversary of George Headley's birth; the 80th anniversary of England's first tour of the West Indies; the 60th anniversary of Sir Everton Weekes' world record of five consecutive Test hundreds; the 50th anniversary of Sir Garfield Sobers' then world record of 365 not out; and, coming to the present, Shivnarine Chanderpaul being named Cricketer of the Year late last year.

Auspicious occasion

The theme of the evening was West Indies Cricket - Back To Winning, a statement and mindset that might not bode well for the members of the current England squad, who, along with their Windies counterparts, took in the festivities and hopefully grasped the essence of the auspicious occasion. The awards handed out, David Rudder's Rally Round The West Indies and other soca hits were played, followed with a Caribbean repast.

Guests included Colin Croft, Lance Gibbs, Debra Lopez, Gerald Wight, Granville Newell, Tony Becca, Ali McNab, Jackie Hendricks, Hugh Morris, Alva Anderson, Michael Stern, Lystra Sharpe, Ian Bishop, Saleem Lazarus, Stuart Fisher and Molly Rhone.

Two of the world's most-feared batsmen, West Indies captain Chris Gayle (left) and England's Kevin Pietersen might be wondering how the Sabina Park pitch will play. - Photos by Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer