November 26th, 1967- Ridley Detamore Jacobs was born to Cyril and Mavis Jacobs and raised in the village of Swetes along with his eight siblings: seven sisters and one brother.

He received his formal education at the Swetes Government School, known today as the Irene B. Williams Secondary School.

Growing up, Jacobs spent a lot of time with his family-owned livestock and played two sports: cricket and football. He fondly reflects the close bonds he shared with many good friends, some of whom have passed on. He recalls the fun they would have at Christmas rolling tires through the street using a stick. 

Jacobs is a widely known West Indies cricketer, a wicket-keeper and a left-handed batsman from 1996 to 2004. His passion for the game was cultivated in his home village of Swetes where he was able to observe the village cricket team which consisted of players such as Enoch Lewis, Freddie Ambrose and Ed Lewis, who he viewed as quality players. Seeing them motivated him to want to play. When finally given the opportunity at age 17, he was very happy. He initially played with the Swetes cricket team before going on to the national team and through to the West Indies. 

Prior to being selected for the Leeward Islands, Jacobs was selected for the Under-19 West Indies World Cup Team to play in Australia in 1988.

His first season with the Leeward Islands team (1991-1992) saw him playing in Nevis, but that did not go too well; however, he was able to improve on this when he went to Jamaica. These experiences only caused his love for the game to grow even more and made him determined to make it to the West Indies senior team. 

To attain his goal of making the senior team, Jacobs pushed himself towards working very hard to improve his game. Despite his efforts, he struggled to make the selection and he admits that this led him, at times, to question whether or not to continue, however, his faith in God and the support of family helped him to stay the course and realize his dream. 

Jacobs made his One Day International (ODI) debut on 26th March 1996. On his thirty-first birthday, 26th November, 1998, he made his test debut. Despite his late start, Jacobs would go on to amass 2,577 runs, 207 catches, 2 run-outs and 12 stumpings in test match cricket and 1865 runs, 160 catches, 4 run-outs and 29 stumpings inODI games with 3 centuries overall. He is second only to Jeff Dujon as West Indies most accomplished wicket keepers.

Ridley is the first opening batsman to carry his bat (bat an entire innings and remain not out in the history of Cricket World Cup (versus Australia 1999) , a record he held for 20 years before another player joined this exclusive club. He followed this up in 2000 to become joint record holder for seven catches in a Test innings against Australia.  He is also the first West Indian to score a century against South Africa. 

On his home turf, the Antigua Recreation Grounds, during the fourth test match against England in 2004, Jacobs joined Brian Lara for a record breaking partnership in which he scored an unbeaten 107(207 balls). 

He considers his greatest accomplishment in West Indies cricket as his appointment to captain the team in 2002 during a tour of Bangladesh. Jacobs never thought it possible for him to rise to the level of captain, but he chose to make the best of the opportunity. He had an undefeated tour as captain in the two test matches and three ODI’s played.

There are many matches that he has enjoyed over his career, but he notes his all time favourite as being one where he scored 100 runs playing against England in 2002 in Antigua, a game he dedicated to his mother as a Mothers’ Day present. 

Batting at number 7, when it came to saving the day and making those crucial runs, Jacobs could be depended on. He recalls one game in Australia where the team was 20 or 25 for 5 and the pressure was on for him to place the team in a good position. He did not disappoint, working his way to 97 runs not out by the end of the play. 

Jacobs officially retired from playing professional cricket in 2004, playing his last ODI on 10th July 2024 against New Zealand and his last test match on July 29th, 2024 against England. He is one of the best wicketkeepers of the game.

Jacobs continues to be an integral part of cricket in Antigua and Barbuda as the Cricket Coordinator within the Ministry of Sports where he is responsible for schools’ cricket development programme. He is as passionate about coaching the next generation as he was a professional cricketer. He is of the firm belief that “young players need proper coaches to help mould them”. He is confident that with adequate resources and manpower, the next generation of cricketers can be poised for greatness. 

He is very grateful for the path that cricket has paved in his life. In his travels, he had the opportunity to meet individuals from many places who he was able to interact with and learn from. During these interactions discussion would have arisen on what life after cricket. With the right advice and proper networking, he was able to settle on business, a decision which propelled him to establish Jake’s Supermarket in Swetes where he takes a very hands on approach in the operations. 

Jacob’s character exudes that of one who has recognized his vast abilities but has been blessed with a significant degree of humility that compels him to use these skills towards the development of others. He has a strong love for his home community, Swetes, and it is for this very reason he continues to live and operate business in the area as he always wants to continue to have an impact on the community that helped nurture him. 

His commitment to God and his groundings in his home church where he grew up, the Swetes Wesleyan Holiness Church, is evident. He notes that influence of his church family and faith to keep him going even when it felt like things were not happening in his favour. His spiritual foundation kept him grounded and humble even at the highest points in his career.

Jacobs encourages younger, up and coming players to focus on their spiritual development just as much as the other areas as a means of building their defences against the many negative influences that can potentially derail their dreams.