There is a long gap between that match and Montserrat's next recorded appearance, which came in the 1969 Hesketh Bell Shield against Nevis. The following year, Jim Allen, considered Monterrat's greatest sportsman, debuted for the island. However, he would not become the islands first first-class cricketer, as William Duberry had played for the Leeward Islands in February 1967. Montserrat took part in the Hesketh Bell Shield and its replacement tournament, the Heineken Challenge Trophy, throughout most of the 1970s and the 1980s. Their participation in the tournament continued into the 1990s, with matches home throughout this period being held at Sturge Park, which has also held first-class cricket on six occasions up to 1994. From 1995, Montserrat was devastated by eruptions from Soufrière Hills. An eruption in 1997 destroyed Plymouth, with the resulting pyroclastic flows and ash fall from the eruption also destroying the main ground at Sturge Park, leaving the Montserratian team without first-class facilities.