Playing the Game: How Cricket Made Barbados
by Brian Stoddart
Thanks to the prompting of his father, the Author played cricket from a young age, including during his years at University of Canterbury where he studied history to doctorate level. It’s not surprising, then, that this book combines the two in a further study. After playing in Australia and India, he travelled to Barbados to research the history of the game there.
The early chapters deal with the social background of Barbadian society – French influence, British imperialism, African slavery. Cricket was brought to the Caribbean by the colonial expats who owned and ran sugar plantations – lucrative concerns till the end of slavery in 1834. The purpose was to “instil and reinforce in the population the idea of an English or imperial game played to the same social standards and behavioural norms wherever it might be found.” Half a century after the abolition of slavery, Barbadian society was still riven by discrimination based on colour, class and status. The book traces the role that cricket had in changing that system to one much more equal.
From early games played by workers, with grounds and equipment supplied by the plantation owners, cricket became a widespread sport, eventually a national obsession. Brian Stoddart attests – “When I arrived…the mania for cricket was unlike anything I had seen in New Zealand, Australia or England, and was matched only by the growing enthusiasm in India.”
The text makes frequent jumps, forwards and backwards in time, as the Author considers relevant themes, as well as the historical background to the (then) present.
I was impressed by the depth of research included in the book, but this can make difficult reading, as the proliferation of names and dates stops the book from flowing. However, with 320 pages of text, including photos, plus footnotes, index, and an extensive bibliography, it is a great source of information.
Among the details of early colonial settlers, specific cricket matches and players, he includes some great personal anecdotes, such as Australian reaction to ‘gentlemanly’ play, how to ease one’s way through immigration in the West Indies, and copious stories of different people and encounters, including being pointed out as “a white man playing in a black team”. Such stories are where I found the most interest.
by Brian Stoddart
Thanks to the prompting of his father, the Author played cricket from a young age, including during his years at University of Canterbury where he studied history to doctorate level. It’s not surprising, then, that this book combines the two in a further study. After playing in Australia and India, he travelled to Barbados to research the history of the game there.
The early chapters deal with the social background of Barbadian society – French influence, British imperialism, African slavery. Cricket was brought to the Caribbean by the colonial expats who owned and ran sugar plantations – lucrative concerns till the end of slavery in 1834. The purpose was to “instil and reinforce in the population the idea of an English or imperial game played to the same social standards and behavioural norms wherever it might be found.” Half a century after the abolition of slavery, Barbadian society was still riven by discrimination based on colour, class and status. The book traces the role that cricket had in changing that system to one much more equal.
From early games played by workers, with grounds and equipment supplied by the plantation owners, cricket became a widespread sport, eventually a national obsession. Brian Stoddart attests – “When I arrived…the mania for cricket was unlike anything I had seen in New Zealand, Australia or England, and was matched only by the growing enthusiasm in India.”
The text makes frequent jumps, forwards and backwards in time, as the Author considers relevant themes, as well as the historical background to the (then) present.
I was impressed by the depth of research included in the book, but this can make difficult reading, as the proliferation of names and dates stops the book from flowing. However, with 320 pages of text, including photos, plus footnotes, index, and an extensive bibliography, it is a great source of information.
Among the details of early colonial settlers, specific cricket matches and players, he includes some great personal anecdotes, such as Australian reaction to ‘gentlemanly’ play, how to ease one’s way through immigration in the West Indies, and copious stories of different people and encounters, including being pointed out as “a white man playing in a black team”. Such stories are where I found the most interest.
Review by Harold Bernard
Title: Playing the Game: How Cricket Made Barbados
Author: Brian Stoddart
Publisher: Brickworks Media
ISBN: 978-0-6483938-6-3
RRP: $38.50
Available: Amazon
Author: Brian Stoddart
Publisher: Brickworks Media
ISBN: 978-0-6483938-6-3
RRP: $38.50
Available: Amazon
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