Brendon McCullum plays cricket in paradise. Photo / Reuters
Monique Devereux, former chief reporter at the Herald and now Christchurch correspondent for Radio New Zealand, is at the Cricket World Cup. She brings nzherald.co.nz regular news and views from the West Indies
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We haven't had to travel far to find the New Zealand team training, on landing in Antigua.
The Stanford is a private cricket ground within the VC Bird International Airport complex.
As with all of the Caribbean airports I've seen so far, the Bird is not huge. But
it certainly has the most interesting name, and the complex surrounding it looks like something out of Beverly Hills or the Gold Coast.
All because of American businessman Allen Stanford's vision 20 years ago, when he stepped off the plane and saw airport workers playing cricket on the flat barren land next door.
He bought it and the complex now includes roads that are perfectly flat, not a pothole in sight. The businesses and hotels within it are surrounded by exotic gardens with lawns with accompanying lawns in pristine condition.
It includes the Bank of Antigua, the Stanford International Bank, the Sticky Wicket Restaurant and Cricket Hall of Fame and one of Antigua's landmarks, the 70-foot tall Observation Tower.
Then there is the cricket ground itself.
Its first major function was to host the Stanford 20/20 tournament played between 19 West Indian nations last year. You may have caught some of the highlights on Sky TV over summer.
This ground is made for television with permanent – and elegant - camera crew structures on the boundary at both ends of the wicket and at midfield.
The raised embankment provides the perfect picnic area for spectators.
Surrounded by palm trees and colonial style buildings, this ground is just gorgeous. Out on the green grass New Zealand's newest arrival, Chris Martin, must wonder if he didn't just drop into paradise.
I can't wait to see what the rest of Antigua, outside the airport.
