Field Survey

In order to get a better sense of the reality of the effect of cricket on the West Indies, I ventured to Marine Park, a popular park with multiple cricket fields, to survey cricketers about what they thought about the sport.

Cricket has been a part of West Indies culture as far back as the 1800s. It has been ingrained in many people’s lives. The figure above displays the survey results on how early a random selection of cricket players in New York began playing the sport. Many of the respondents were immigrants or children of immigrants so they began playing since they were back in their home countries. According to the results, people commonly began playing cricket as early as the age of seven. One’s youth is a critical exploratory period where many people begin to develop their skills and affinity for certain activities that would stick with them for the rest of their life. Being exposed to cricket so early in life influences the way these people viewed themselves and those they meet from the sport. Playing cricket allows for social cohesion within the community that the players unintentionally form from playing. It was difficult to get most of these players to take a small hiatus from cricket to participate in the survey because they really wanted to play cricket with their friends. This shows the unifying power of cricket.

An important question to consider when exploring how cricket has influenced one’s identity and community is what is the underlying drive for people to play cricket? As a response, those surveyed gave an array of answers for being the inspiration or motivation for playing cricket, pictured above. The driving force for people playing a sport identifies how that sport resonates with the individual, which shows how much the sport means to them personally. A majority of the reasons bubbled had a connection to the individual’s social environment. Furthermore, Hall’s essay presents historical context as to why cricket is so prominent amongst the Caribbean community. He links cricket to being a symbol against colonialism which is the underlying reason for cricket’s popularity. By playing cricket, the Caribbean community felt they were standing up against the discrimination they experienced. Although the players from the survey didn’t specifically list “rising against discrimination” as a motivation for playing cricket, by playing cricket they already take part in a Caribbean identity that inherently opposes the injustice the community faced historically.

The biggest idea to take away from this object is the highlighted focus on team, respect, friends, and goal. The survey revealed these to be the most repeated impacts that the respondents felt cricket has brought into their lives. Joseph’s paper discusses how a Canadian group of cricket players formed a tight community through cricket. Having a sport and a goal as a commonality makes it easier for the players to bond and build ties with each other. Being on the same team created a sense of home when the players were surrounded by people of similar origins, even though they only met through the team. The community formed from being a team is an important factor that guides the identity of its constituents. In addition to the community cricket brings, other benefits also speak out about how cricket have shaped the players into the people they are today. Characteristics such as being respectful, teamwork, and friendship all shape their identity.

Deep inside Brooklyn, in Marine Park, is where the Brooklyn Cricket League plays their games. The league is composed of 14 teams, each composed of players from all over the world such as Trinidad or Bangladesh. The picture above is the logo for the Imperial Cricket and Social Club cricket team, composed mainly, if not completely, of members of West Indies descent. The manager of that team is Stanley Stephen, a former member of the Imperial team. Stanley grew up in St. Vincent and has played cricket since he was eight. He soon took up the position of captain of his school team and later joined the Imperial team, after he immigrated to the U.S., in 1970. He played as the open bowler and open batter, making him an all-rounder. He stayed true to the Imperial team and never switched teams. He recently retired from the team in 2008 because of age but he’s still involved plenty with the team. Cricket has been a huge part of Stanley’s life and it still is. His relationship with the Imperial team displays the respectable community he’s a part of, due to his involvement with cricket, and how he cherishes that. He proudly spoke about his team freely with me even before I asked about it. He invokes respect between teams and leagues by providing his own respect for them. Through cricket, Stanley has built his character and community.

 

References

Hall, J. (n.d.). Cricket in the Caribbean; the place of sport in the formation of a post colonial identity. [Scholarly project]. In Academia . Retrieved from http://www.academia.edu/30538751/Cricket_in_the_Caribbean_the_place_of_sport_in_the_formation_of_a_post_colonial_identity

Joseph, J. (2014). Culture, community, consciousness: The Caribbean sporting diaspora. International Review For The Sociology Of Sport, 49(6), 669-687. doi:10.1177/1012690212465735