The Fall of Kensington Fortress

By Stabroek News On In In Search of West Indies Cricket |
The England team celebrate their astonishing victory, dousing Man-of-the-Match Alec Stewart with Tetley Bitter, their sponsor’s brew. Stewart, champagne in hand, is flanked by (left to right, front row) Chris Lewis, Skipper Mike Atherton, Robin Smith and Jack Russell. Tetley Bitter sponsored England’s cricket team from 1994 to 1998. (Photo from Caribbean Red Stripe Cricket Quarterly, Vol # 4, Issue # 3, July/September 1994)
The England team celebrate their astonishing victory, dousing Man-of-the-Match Alec Stewart with Tetley Bitter, their sponsor’s brew. Stewart, champagne in hand, is flanked by (left to right, front row) Chris Lewis, Skipper Mike Atherton, Robin Smith and Jack Russell. Tetley Bitter sponsored England’s cricket team from 1994 to 1998. (Photo from Caribbean Red Stripe Cricket Quarterly, Vol # 4, Issue # 3, July/September 1994)

In this week’s edition of In Search of West Indies Cricket, Roger Seymour looks at an historic Test match between England and the West Indies
Prologue

“Upon all the new settlements the Spaniards make, the first thing they do is build a church, the first thing the Dutch do upon a new colony is to build them a fort, but the first thing ye English do, be it in the most remote part of ye world, or amongst the most barbarous Indians, is to set up a tavern or drinking house,” attributed to English Sea Captain Thomas Walduck (who was possibly a privateer), in a letter to John Searle, his nephew in London, 1708, on the Historic London Town and Gardens website. It added, “Taverns were critical to the society, economy, and government throughout the British colonies.”