Nadine George awarded MBE

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

George, 37, was presented with her MBE by Prince Charles at a ceremony at Buckingham Palace in London on October 30. A left-handed top-order batsman, she reached three figures in her Test debut 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 - and, in a knock which spanned almost four hours, she helped avert defeat for the West Indies having been forced to follow on.

George, who works as a Corporal of the Royal St Lucia Police Force Marine Unit, 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."

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

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

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.

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."