CRICKET AS A CATALYST TO THE CARIBBEAN IDENTITY

Harry Sawh, Cricketwindies
Introduction
Cricket is a bat and ball game played between two teams which comprises of eleven players each on a cricket field at the center of which is a rectangular 22-yard-long pitch with a particular target called the wicket which is a set of three wooden bases/stumps topped by two balls at each single end. Each phase of a cricket playing game is referred to as an INNING during which one team bats, attempting to score as many runs as possible while in their opponent’s field.

The type of match been played determines the number of innings a team can have. On a normal day, the teams have one or two innings apiece and when the first innings ends, the teams swap roles for the next innings. When matches result in draws, the winning team is always the one that scores the most run, including any extra runs gained.

The west indies cricket team officially referred to as the WINDIES since June, 2017 is a multinational cricket team of the Caribbean descent. The Windies consist of players selected from a chain of 15 mainly English-speaking Caribbean countries. They are ranked 8th in the world, 9th in ODI and 3rd in the official ICC rankings.

Cricket and Caribbean Identity
Cricket has served as a classy lens through which construction and negotiation of a real Caribbean identity can be made. Beyond the Caribbean history of rootlessness, a general question has been asked: what has the imported and imposed English cricket done for the Caribbean essence? The answer given signifies that imperial cricket imposed by the English signifies that blacks, Indians, Chinese and other ethnic groups crossbred the game. This group of individuals have been booted out due to colonization even though the game of cricket has been understood to be a diverse, lively, on-going and often illogical procedure of renewal and growth.

The Indian cricket was a mirror to the history of the average West Indian identity and there is really no need to isolate cricket because it is only when the society decides to rejuvenate itself that the cricket can do likewise too. The Caribbean cricket in the face of globalizing situations continues to be the mirror through which identity can be constructed and negotiated. The Caribbean cricket in the 21st century bears certain resemblance to what exists in the past. It is vulnerable to tension, anxieties and certain stress that comes with globalization.

Poor economic decisions made by the countries in the Caribbean has affected the growth of cricket. The Windies are the only Test cricketers in the world who has successfully rejected their national duty for a more robust purse. The political game in the Caribbean has allowed for this loss of identity unlike what operates in Australia, England, South Africa, New Zealand and Pakistan. Certain structural adjustment from international financial organizations has added to the division of the region making it difficult for them to have a unique identity. This has led to many individuals in the Caribbean not to identify the game of cricket as a symbol of nationhood and social harmony.

What we have today in the West Indies is a case of separated allegiances, economic instability, political and social tension which has caused the Caribbean identity to be neglected. In the last two decades, globalization and commercialization of sports have largely undone its role in nation building. Cricket is a very unpopular game in most nations of the world. This has made cricketers in poorer Caribbean countries like Trinidad to play competitive cricket away from their country while earning some extra money on the sides.

Recommendations

Cricket just like football and basketball has a bigger chance of uniting nations of the world and ensuring economic, political, and social stability. A fundamental solution to this identity loss upsurge is the renegotiation of local identity construction that requires successful fusing with globalized forces.

Countries and Cities around the world have viewed the game of cricket as a very essential tool needed to stimulate economic development and international relevance. The benefits derived from ensuring that cricket has an international identity is the rejuvenation of communities through the creation of new facilities and revitalizing infrastructures.
Other solution to this identity loss include:
Provision of extensive facilities and infrastructures
Provision of assistance to local communities to develop tourist enterprises which will necessitate a share in the economic growth provided by the game of cricket.
Reduction of specific barriers like taxes, import duties, interest loans which inhibits the development of a good enterprise
There is the need for re-invention and revalidation of the Caribbean tourism to reflect changing market demand and dynamism in order to provide a fashionable, competitive and profitable environment.

In conclusion, identity can be created for the West Indices and their cricketers can serve as an agent of globalization and industrialization if when called to play with the national team, individuals who refuses to play are made to undergo a great level of shame, withdrawal and divisions away from their homes.

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