For a lad from Lancashire, Saqib Mahmood has more connections to Barbados than most.
From a professional perspective, this is where he made his Test debut in March 2022. In a high-scoring draw, Mahmood stood out with a performance that seemed to lock him in for years. He was the point-of-difference bowler England had been screaming out for. Where everyone else wanted the new ball, he bowled with the old. When everyone else bowled 82mph, he bowled 87mph. Chris Woakes at home, Saqib Mahmood away. Set your watch to it.
But then the injuries came. Consecutive stress fractures meant the best part of two years out and a 'what-if' storyline developing for a bowler who was meant to be England's present and future.
And from a personal perspective, he's spent a lot of time here. He's great mates with Jofra Archer, the pair often using the island as a training base. Have a bowl, hang out, and go to the spots you don't know about because you're not a local.
For the ODI series that began in Antigua, Mahmood flew out to Barbados ten days early to prepare. He even enquired about playing a match for Archer's club side, Wildey CC, to aid his preparation. The ECB approved, but the match was scheduled over two weekends and meant it wasn't possible.
"I hadn't played 50-over cricket in so long," says Mahmood, "so I was wondering if I could get a game."
His love of the Caribbean has attracted attention from his team-mates, with Mahmood refusing to reveal the nickname his peers have given him.
"I'm not saying it," he laughs. "Because it's going to end up as a headline."
Fortunately his team-mates aren't so discreet.
"Sam Curran's been calling him the King of Barbados," confirmed Jos Buttler with a smile.
It is fitting then, that the King of Barbados' second coming as an England cricketer comes on the island. Across the two T20Is at the Kensington Oval, he took six wickets. A brutal opening spell on Saturday reduced West Indies to 18 for 3, before an attacking, and occasionally wild, spell of bowling on Sunday netted him 2 for 20.
"He feels if the ball's got some movement, he wants to push it up there," Buttler said of Mahmood's three overs which included six wides. "Obviously that's sometimes harder to control, but he chased those wickets which we asked of him."
It's hard to gauge where Mahmood sits in the current international set-up. His position as England's pitch independent bowler has been usurped by Gus Atkinson and Brydon Carse, with both also being more capable with the bat.
But the last few months have shown England that he is a bowler they can once again call upon and rely on. His performance in the Hundred final was one of the competition's first 'I was there' moments. Three wickets in seven deliveries, with his four-ball working-over of Kieron Pollard as good as it gets.
"You've got one of the best players to have ever played the game," his captain Sam Billings summarised at the time. "And you've had him on toast."
Mahmood's decision to sign a white-ball-only contract with Lancashire raised eyebrows. On the surface, it looked like another domino to fall in the direction of the proliferation of franchise cricket, but this is false.
He has himself said that he still aspires to play Test cricket, with a large part of his decision being made in loyalty to Lancashire so they don't pay him for something his body might not allow him to do.
"I think that's been taken out of context slightly," Mahmood said of his decision. "If you look at my injury history over the last couple of years, I've obviously had two big injuries. And there was a time this year where I said to the guys I didn't really want to play any red-ball cricket because I was nervous about my body.
"In the end, I played a couple of Champo [County Championship] games, but what this contract allows me to do is, if my body isn't up to playing red-ball, then I don't feel bad for not playing. But red ball is definitely still on my agenda.
"Obviously there was a bit of backlash from Lancashire supporters who were annoyed, but I can assure them that I still want to play red ball."
Remarkably, it is over five years since Mahmood first played for England - a T20I against New Zealand in 2019 that preceded two-and-a-half years of being ever-present in squads but an irregular on the field. In total, he has 27 international appearances across formats, averaging five matches a year.
England have long relied on the Bajan population to boost their ranks. First there was Chris Jordan, then there was Archer before Phil Salt and now Jacob Bethell, who are counted within England's international cricketers.
But now, three years after the island voted to become a republic, they can rely on a fifth. Saqib Mahmood. The King of Barbados.