West Indies Cricket
The significance of the “intimate connection between cricket and West Indian Social and Political life”
Cricket has been intertwined in the life of West Indians since it arrived in the islands. It has been a representation of injustice and prejudice as well as a conduit for social and political triumph in the West Indies. The development of cricket, as not just another game, mirrors the question for decolonization from Britain and also the struggles of nationalist and independence endeavors. Throughout its lifespan, the West Indies cricket team has been an institution where racial divide was present and then conquered, mirroring the social and political flows evident in mainstream society. Its legacy and continuation validates C.L.R James statement that “There is an intimate connection between cricket and west Indian social and political life”.
The introduction of cricket to the West Indian islands proved to be another apartheid mechanism against black west Indians. The game was regarded as a ‘gentleman’s’ game and ousted the blacks from its perceived prestigious doors. The first cricket clubs on the nineteenth century were compromised solely of white and reinforced the social and political norms of society. Hence, cricket was a metaphor for the social stratification of the colonial society (beckles, 15). To allow blacks into the cricket clubs and onto cricket fields was comparable to allowing them participation in the political structures of the time and elevating their social status. Blacks were still regarded as the lowest social class of the post emancipation era. Participation and leadership in social activities and institutions, such as schools and churches were restricted almost completely to whites. Similarly, blacks had little voice in the political running of the colonies and could not posses status in the political realm. Voting was limited to propertied whites and blacks could not hold positions such as governors or mayors. The blacks regarded cricket
Cricket has been intertwined in the life of West Indians since it arrived in the islands. It has been a representation of injustice and prejudice as well as a conduit for social and political triumph in the West Indies. The development of cricket, as not just another game, mirrors the question for decolonization from Britain and also the struggles of nationalist and independence endeavors. Throughout its lifespan, the West Indies cricket team has been an institution where racial divide was present and then conquered, mirroring the social and political flows evident in mainstream society. Its legacy and continuation validates C.L.R James statement that “There is an intimate connection between cricket and west Indian social and political life”.
The introduction of cricket to the West Indian islands proved to be another apartheid mechanism against black west Indians. The game was regarded as a ‘gentleman’s’ game and ousted the blacks from its perceived prestigious doors. The first cricket clubs on the nineteenth century were compromised solely of white and reinforced the social and political norms of society. Hence, cricket was a metaphor for the social stratification of the colonial society (beckles, 15). To allow blacks into the cricket clubs and onto cricket fields was comparable to allowing them participation in the political structures of the time and elevating their social status. Blacks were still regarded as the lowest social class of the post emancipation era. Participation and leadership in social activities and institutions, such as schools and churches were restricted almost completely to whites. Similarly, blacks had little voice in the political running of the colonies and could not posses status in the political realm. Voting was limited to propertied whites and blacks could not hold positions such as governors or mayors. The blacks regarded cricket