Michael Maynard – Sports Columnist
As a child growing up in Birmingham, England I remember rising each morning of the school holidays to go out to play cricket “around the back” – a place my three brothers and I affectionately called the narrow alley in which many of our epic encounters were played out.
With planks of wood nailed together to form a makeshift bat and a tennis ball we wiled away entire days on the uneven tarmac surface imitating our West Indian heroes of the First Class game.
The fact that we were never quite good enough to grace the green outfields of Edgbaston – our nearest county ground – was immaterial; for as I later realised cricket and particularly the West Indian influence on the game taught us much, much more. We were inculcated with an understanding and love of our parents’ homeland which was crucial to our sense of identity growing up in inner-city Britain.
However, today we are more likely to witness snow fall in Bridgetown than to see second generation British born Caribbean youngsters embracing the “religion” of cricket.
Does it matter? I think it does!
Cricket was my link to a culture I felt part of by virtue of having Bajan (Barbados) parents without being fully socialised into. It was my spur into finding out more about the land my folks had left in the 1950’s and 60’s hoping at some stage to return enriched by their experiences in the “Mother Country”.
Ultimately, it instilled a sense of pride and belonging in an often hostile and overtly racist environment.
Photo courtesy guardian.co.uk
For much of my youth West Indies were the dominant force in world cricket. Captained first by Clive Lloyd and then Viv Richards the “Maroon Brigade” ran roughshod over all opposition in both the Test arena and the fast emerging One Day game. The team’s success gave me the opportunity to “big up” my chest at school at a time when positive images of Black success were scant.
When ‘Sir Viv’ marched into the den of his nemesis and imperiously slew the dragon with a self-confidence bordering on arrogance; it spoke volumes about the emergence of Caribbean people as masters of their own destiny.
It also begged the question: If the cricketers’ could take on the world and triumph why couldn’t those of us, with less superior eye and hand co-ordination, find success in other walks of life.
Sadly over the last two decades the game in general and West Indies cricket in particular has fallen from the consciousness of the younger Black British population.
Much of this has to do with the demise of the “Calypso Kings” as an all conquering force in the modern game and partly because of the hegemony of American urban youth culture.
Furthermore, cricket continues to struggle to get its voice heard above the plethora of sporting and non-sporting endeavours which compete for the attention of pubescent youth.
Calypso Kings celebrating. Photo courtesy bellevision.com
I am the proud father of three children under eleven and know how difficult it is to get them interested in the game. I have shelled out hard earned cash on bats and balls to coax them into “padding up”.
Although, initially greeted with enthusiasm by my off-spring this excitement soon dissipated as the next Premier League Football match or blockbuster movie hit the small screen.
But it’s incumbent on me to keep fighting because as my generation drifts slowly towards retirement and the inevitable meeting with our Maker thus will go the link between the Caribbean and its British born Diaspora.
As the great Jamaican political leader Marcus Garvey wrote: ” A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots”.
The loosening of the link between the Caribbean and its Diaspora can also have disastrous economic ramifications for the region. A fall in investment in real estate and a reduction in the transfer of skills and expertise from the Diaspora to the Caribbean will be the likely outcome; as will the inevitable decline in remittances, which remain a vital financial inflow for Caribbean countries.
The demand for nostalgic foods and agricultural goods would also decrease as the Diaspora community’s attachment to the homelands of their forbears weakens – further denting prospects for future growth.
So what must be done?
Dad teaching son the basics. Photo courtesy
First, it is essential that all who raise children of Caribbean origin in the Diaspora strive to promote the region to their charges. They should encourage a love and understanding of West Indian culture; whether it’s taking them to carnival, cooking Caribbean foods or reading literature which emanates from the region.
Secondly, and more important, the recent resurgence of West Indies cricket – at least in the 20/20 version of the game – must continue. For nothing breeds interest more than success. When Gayle, Samuels, Narine and the others led West Indies men’s team to the 20/20 world title in October – their first major trophy since the 1979 World Cup – it was broadcast live to tens of millions around the world.
The excitement generated by the exploits on the cricket field got my previously disinterested kids up on their feet and cheering every run and wicket for Darren Sammy’s men.
Now they are picking up the bat and ball I had consigned to storage and wanting to know where they can find their nearest club. Even my daughter wasn’t left out as the ever improving Windies female team finished runners up in the women’s version of the 20/20 World Cup.
More crucially though, the successes on the pitch has translated into my children now asking questions about the home of their grandparents and wondering when can they go to visit and even live under Caribbean skies.
It’s now down to my wife, I and Darren Sammy’s men to keep this interest alive and nurture it so that it becomes more than a passing fad because the economic future of the Caribbean can well depend upon it.
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