West Indies women's star honoured with MBE

Nadine George receives her MBE at Buckingham palace © Getty Images

Nadine George, the first West Indies woman cricketer to score a hundred in a Test match, has been awarded the MBE (Member of the British Empire) medal for her contribution to sport.

The award is the second massive shot in the arm for the women's game in the Caribbean in the recent past, following on from the integration of the West Indies Women's Cricket Federation with the West Indies Cricket Board in August 2005.

Ms George, 37, was presented with her MBE by Prince Charles at a ceremony at Buckingham Palace in London in late October.

Ms George, a left-handed top-order batter, reached three figures in her first - and so far - only Test, against Pakistan in Karachi in March 2004.

Her innings of 118 was the highest by a West Indies female batter in Tests, surpassing the 72 made by Beverly Browne against England in July 1979.

Her innings, which spanned almost four hours at the crease, helped avert defeat for the West Indies after they had been forced to follow on.

Ms George, who works as a Corporal of the Royal St Lucia Police Force Marine Unit, has played for St Lucia since 1999.

She made her ODI debut against Sri Lanka in 2003 and was part of the West Indies line-up that took part in the International Women's Cricket Council Trophy in the Netherlands in 2003 and this year's Women's World Cup in South Africa.

Commenting on the award, Ms George said: "It was a fantastic honour. I used to play the game for the fun of it but that all changed when I made the West Indies cricket team.

"With a new mind set and goal, I decided to live by the code that with hard work and dedication you can achieve, and this award is proof of that."

Ms George was joined at the ceremony by her sister and two cousins and that was important to her after her father died earlier this year.

"The original announcement [of the award] was made while my father was still alive but I actually received it after he passed away," she said.

"But despite that I was still delighted and elated to receive the award.

"Prince Charles congratulated me on my achievement and told me to keep up the good work and score more hundreds," added Ms George.

Ann Browne-John, the coach of the West Indies Women's team, said: "It is great pleasure for me to work with Nadine and I think the award is truly deserved.

"Her achievements have inspired young ladies in the Caribbean to pick up the game of cricket and she now plays a prominent part in the promotion of sport in the West Indies."

Seven West Indian islands play women's cricket - Barbados, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St Lucia, St Vincent & the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago - with two regional tournaments (one senior and one junior) played annually. In 2006 the junior tournament will become an under-19 event having previously taken place at under-23 level.

All the regional teams gather in one of the islands for each tournament with the seniors playing on a league and knock-out basis while the juniors play on a league format only.