ST JOHN'S–The first play­er from the Lee­ward Is­lands to have been se­lect­ed on the West In­dies crick­et team, Elqueme­do Wil­let, is to be ho­n­oured at a gala cer­e­mo­ny in An­tigua ear­ly next month.

Wil­lett, who made his de­but as a 19-year-old against Aus­tralia in 1972-73, is among sev­er­al per­sons to be award­ed as part of the 100 years cel­e­bra­tions of or­gan­ised crick­et in the sub-re­gion.

Wil­lett played in five Tests from 1972 to 1974 and was con­sid­ered by many to be the best of many left-arm fin­ger-spin­ners dur­ing New Zealand's tour of the West In­dies in 1972.The Nevis born, who had best fig­ures of 3 for 33 against Aus­tralia, fad­ed in­to the shad­ows with the ad­vent of West In­dies all-pace at­tack.

He will be ho­n­oured along with ad­min­is­tra­tors, vol­un­teers, spon­sors, fans and oth­er per­sons who have con­tributed to crick­et in the Lee­ward Is­lands.The black tie gala on April 6, at the Grand Roy­al An­tiguan Re­sort is be­ing or­gan­ised by the Lee­ward Is­lands Crick­et As­so­ci­a­tion.Or­gan­ised crick­et in the Lee­ward Is­lands was first held in 1913. CMC