Harwood Williams

My name is Harwood Williams and I was born on this beautiful Island of St Kitts. I played football and cricket for the Island and was fortunate enough to play cricket for the senior team in the early to mid 1980s. I played for the Leeward Island with cricketing greats like Richie Richardson, Curtley Ambrose, Keith Artherton, the Benjamins (Winston and Kenneth), and Stuart Williams among others. In the 1980s I moved to Canada to play cricket and I was subsequently scouted by the Leeds Caribbean Cricket Club in England where I settled.

I was recruited to Dunnington Cricket Club shortly after making half a century against an England touring the team in the mid-1990s. Colin Graves was the Chairman of Dunnington Cricket Club at that time and went on to be the Chairman of the ECB. I played for Dunnington Cricket Club for 22 years and alongside the likes of Collis King and Alvin Kalicharaan.

I have always been part of the Leeds Caribbean Cricket Club which I consider to be my home club. In 2005 I organised a tour to St. Kitts and Nevis because I recognised that so many of the members at the Club had left the Caribbean, mainly from St Kitts and Nevis, many years ago and had never returned. This resulted in practically the whole club (75 people) going on tour. This allowed for all of us in the St Kitts and Nevis diaspora to reconnect with family and friends. I have since organised over 20 tours from different cricket clubs in England to St Kitts and Nevis, the last one being in Easter 2023.

I have been Chairperson of Leeds Caribbean Cricket Club for about 10 years. The Committee of the Leeds Caribbean Club has recently secured over half a million pounds in funding from the ECB and Sports England to build a new clubhouse. The official opening took place on Saturday 13th April 2024 with dignitaries, local politicians and English and West Indian cricketing celebrities from both the men’s and women’s game attending. This new pavilion that I have helped bring about will create a legacy for the Caribbean community in Leeds for years to come.