We headed off from Melbourne on Tuesday 10th June for the Caribbean All Rounder Tour. Ronnie and I really had no idea what to expect and we were fortunate to meet stalwart Beth at the airport. She had a fair idea of what was going on so we followed her like little lambs. After many hours and changing of planes we arrived in Miami to be met by Sam & Chris. They herded their little group of sheep up and we headed off to the Marriott with only four people (I think) missing their luggage. I was pretty sick and headed straight to bed. I tell you what; it’s worth $1000 to sleep in a Marriott bed. Next morning up early for breaky and off to the airport to catch our flight to Barbados. We are so excited; as we are AST virgins this was all new to us. Arrived at the Accra Beach Resort and the first thing person we see is Stuart Clark - we are staying at the same resort as the Aussie and West Indies players and their families! How cool is that? We had a fairly full on introduction to Rum Punch at the welcome drinks and Ronnie is still off the rum!

The island trips were really interesting; every island is different in its own individual way. The people were so friendly and welcoming. They love the Aussies (I guess our tourist dollar is very helpful) but they are so involved in the cricket culture. The West Indies Team is letting their fans down a little at the moment so most of them wanted to be Aussie supporters. No hot pies or ice creams at Windies cricket - you can get fresh fruit straight out of the box, fish balls off the tray, peanuts in the shell or chicken, rice and peas for a small sum. Beer and rum are sold all over the place and the West Indian people bring their own food and drinks to the cricket!

All of the islands we visited were slightly different to each other but the cricket supporters were the same all over. Sam had a memorable moment when a West Indian poked his head in our bus thinking it was the players’ bus, he asked if Sam was a player and we all yelled yes so he was asked for his autograph. He signed and as far as I know he signed “Sam Harrison”. I wonder if the guy got any money for Sam’s signature!

 Our Aussie boys are fantastic, mostly they were very friendly towards us, especially once the One Day series was won. Brett Lee would have to be the most genuinely nice guy that I have ever met but all of the guys were willing to chat to us when they weren’t busy. Unfortunately, Ronnie had one or ten too many Rum Punches when we arrived and managed to snare the lift with “some bloke he recognised”. Apparently he poked this guy in the chest and said; “I know you from somewhere, where do I know you from?” The poor guy just shook his head and smiled at the drunken Aussie. Sadly in the morning Ronnie realised the guy he recognised was only our Captain Ricky Ponting. He will never live that down?!

On closing I would just like to mention our hosts. Merv, Sam, Amos & Chris were absolutely fantastic. Nothing was ever too much trouble, they had a smile on their faces the whole time and they helped make our trip of a lifetime so memorable. Thanks heaps guys! We’ll definitely be back. We made some new friends, met people from all over our beautiful country and had the best holiday ever. Thanks again for all your hard work leading up to the trip and thanks for making us feel so comfortable, you paved the way beautifully.