11,000 miles from Montserrat, cricket player Damion Williams salvages his career and becomes a champion

In April of 2021 – 14 years after his debut with the Montserrat national cricket team – Damion Williams was finally selected to the Leeward Islands squad at age 29. He was honored to get a chance to play first-class cricket and represent his country. He excelled in the trial matches, but when the starting 11 was chosen for the West Indies Championships, he was nowhere to be seen. He languished for two years on the Leewards bench. For 18 of those 24 months he was on no-pay leave from his job as a quantity surveyor with the government of Montserrat.

On February 1, 2023, Leewards prepared to play in the West Indies Championships. Damion was again left out of the starting lineup. Eager to play, he left the squad briefly to play for Montserrat in the Leeward Islands tournament, which was making a return after missing three years due to COVID. Damion’s participation was unfortunately short-lived. On Friday, February 24, 2023, he sustained an ankle injury during the second match against Antigua in St. Kitts. A scan revealed five blood clots in his leg. Though normally a scary diagnosis, these clots were thankfully isolated and immobile.

“They were sports blood clots, not the kind that can kill you,” said Williams, who was treated by a cricket doctor and radiologist in St. Kitts, then continued his rehab in Montserrat. “I remember doing a lot of ultrasounds and strength work with a resistance band. I wanted to get back to the Leewards team before the end of the West Indies Championship.”

Williams worked tirelessly with a trainer but could not recover in time. His season was over, and now he was pondering about his future. Williams fully recovered in August. Now 31 – an age when most fast bowlers are either retired or winding down their careers – Damion was at a crossroads. He knew he still had much to offer on the cricket field. After much deliberation he finally accepted an offer that he had declined three years earlier: playing in Australia.

“I was originally offered a gig in Australia in September of 2020 but I turned them down,” Williams says. “Why? Australia is about 45 hours travel. Plus I heard about deadly snakes and deadly spiders down there.”

It also didn’t help that the offer came amid the height of COVID-19.

CHANCE ENCOUNTER

So how did a small cricket club in Western Australia find out about an unheralded fast bowler from Montserrat?

While playing in England from 2019 to 2021, Williams caught the attention of recruiter and former player Paul Carrick. “I didn’t know who he was,” Williams says. “He was just following my journey. You never know who’s watching or following your success.”

Carrick’s good friend and former teammate is Andrew Zafer, president of North Kalgoorlie Cricket Club. Carrick assists Zafer in recruiting players. Carrick contacted Williams in August of 2023. This time the Montserrat paceman accepted and joined North Kalgoorlie’s team for the Eastern Goldfields Cricket Association’s A-grade season that began October 19, 2023.

His six-month stay Down Under would not only revive his cricketing career, it would provide him with a steady income. It would also climax with a championship, bringing some vindication to an athlete who grew up in a “cricketing fraternity” in Montserrat.

A UNIQUE START

Damion Travis Adolphus Williams was born in Harris Village, well-known for producing some of Montserrat’s best cricketers – including first-class players Jim Allen, George Allen, Lennox Cooper, Fitzroy Buffonge and Davon Williams – and Montserrat’s only international umpire, Basil Morgan.

“It was in the blood . . . everybody from my village played sports,” Williams says proudly.

After the Soufriere Hills volcano forced residents in the East to evacuate in 1997, Williams and his mother relocated to Cork Hill, then Antigua. They returned to Montserrat and lived in Lookout, which Williams considers his childhood home.

Williams made his debut for the Montserrat national team in 2007 while also playing on the Under-15 team. He also represented Montserrat’s Under-17 and Under-19 teams and played for the Leeward Islands’ Under-15, Under-17 and Under-19 squads, serving as vice captain for the Under-17 team. From 2019 to 2021 he played in England for Ticknall Cricket Club and the second teams for Derbyshire and Northamptonshire, including in the second team championship for Northamptonshire.

His stellar play in the UK led to his selection by Leewards in 2021. However, Williams soon realized that being from Montserrat meant he had a narrow margin for error. The Leewards management is dominated by members from Antigua, St. Kitts and Nevis.

“I got the most wickets in trials as a fast bowler and I still wasn’t selected,” Williams said. “Montserrat is like a dot on the map even when compared to other Leeward Islands. We don’t have a lot of people to stand up for us.”

During his two years with Leewards, Williams says he missed out on selection for 11 matches – six four-day matches and five one-day games. His only time on the field was spent being an emergency fielder. He was even brought to tears after being snubbed for a match against Trinidad & Tobago on February 8-11, 2023, in Antigua. He looked on in dismay – knowing he could have helped – as T&T pummeled the Leewards bowlers.

ON TOP DOWN UNDER

Williams’ decision to play in Australia was three years in the making. The actual journey Down Under also proved arduously long. It commenced with a three-hour flight from Antigua to Miami, followed by a five-hour stretch to Los Angeles. From there, the voyage extended to Sydney, spanning a grueling 16 hours, before proceeding to Perth, an additional five-hour leg, and finally culminating with the last hour’s journey to Kalgoorlie. Throughout the expedition, sleep and contact with his family and friends via What’s App provided solace.

Upon arrival in Australia, Williams says he was jet-lagged for a month. It took a while to adjust to the time zone and the punishing heat. During one match Williams had to be awakened when it was his turn to bat.

“I got to Australia October 14^th or 15^th and our first match was October 19. The Caribbean is not even 25 percent as hot as Australia. The air was light. Everybody was like, ‘How come you say you’re a fast bowler and you’re bowling so slow?’ The second game I got four wickets for 17 runs and we bowled out a team for 36 runs.”

North Kalgoorlie advanced to the championship match March 23 against Great Boulder. Williams claimed a wicket with his first delivery but says he didn’t have a great match overall and was battling personal issues. His team still prevailed, and Williams and teammates were celebrated by the locals and featured prominently in the newspaper.

During his time in Kalgoorlie, Williams was provided with room and board, and when the team found out he was a quantity surveyor, they helped him get a job with the local government as a project officer. He would work Monday to Friday, train on Tuesdays and Thursdays and play cricket on Saturdays.

His performance on the field was a major boost for North Kalgoorlie, a club that has existed since 1948. In 22 matches, Williams took 35 wickets at an excellent average of 12.77. Two months into the 2023 season, he received a new contract to return for 2024.

Williams is only the second Montserratian to play in Australia following Jim Allen, who played in World Series Cricket (Kerry Packer) from 1977 to ’79.

Despite being the team’s only black player, Williams says he didn’t experience even a hint of racism during his six months there.

“Everybody treated everybody equally. I was treated really lovely. I was recognized a lot. People would want to attend to me in stores and I don’t even know them. People would come up to me and be like, ‘I know you. You’re always in the newspaper.’ People would be in a bar, don’t even know you and be like, ‘Hey mate, come over, have a drink with us.’ It was a nice area that reminded me about the Caribbean.”

Williams says a major culture shock was players “touching each other on the bum” as a means to celebrate. He also discovered that persons are not allowed to drive after two or three beers.

While in Australia, Williams had the opportunity to visit various locations, including the 400-hectare Kings Park, and the Perth Zoo, where he saw an elephant for the first time. He also saw more kangaroos than he can remember. “In Australia they have more kangaroos than people,” he says. “A kangaroo is basically like a chicken in Montserrat.”

I was treated really lovely. People would come up to me and be like, ‘I know you. You’re always in the newspaper.’ People would be in a bar, don’t even know you and be like, ‘Hey mate, come over, have a drink with us.’

– Damion Williams

PAYING IT FORWARD

Fast bowling is a demanding position that piles up cricket mileage quickly. But with more than 17 years immersed in cricket, Williams declares: “Age is in the mind. You can achieve whatever you want. England fast bowler Jimmy Anderson is over 40 and still playing. If you train hard, your mind stays young, and if you think positive, your body is just going to respond to that positive mindset.”

That said, he knows every career has a shelf life. Williams says his focus has shifted away from the Leeward Islands team. Whereas at one time every player wanted to represented their country, cricket has become a global and lucrative venture. Patriotism is not an accepted form of legal tender. Cricket is a business.

Williams now wants to see young Montserratians also get an opportunity on the global stage.

“My goal right now is to bring other Montserratians with me and boost their career,” he says. “My career is finishing. Montserrat is small, so you would want the youth coming after you to explore things that you never did and showcase their talent.”

The Montserrat national team has not played since February of 2023 and there is no indication when the Leeward Islands tournament will resume. Williams’ commitment to helping the youth in Montserrat can be seen through his involvement with two young rising cricketers: Jemol Williams and Zawandi White. He hopes both can achieve success on the field and generate revenue while still in their prime.

“Even when our players get selected to Leewards they’re not getting in the game,” Williams says. “We have to recognize that there’s life outside the Caribbean. There’s more money to be made outside the Caribbean, especially when you convert the foreign currency.”

In the meantime, Williams says he “can’t wait” to return to Australia, a country that gave his cricket career new life and provided him with a livelihood.

“Those two years with Leewards were the most hurtful and disappointing of my career. Not only did I get fight from Leeward Islands, Montserrat also turned their back on me when they made me take no-pay leave to go play for my own country. I had to rely on sponsors from all over the world. I know they don’t want their names called, but God bless them wherever they are.”