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Cricket has always had an international profile. First played in England in the 1500s, the sport soon spread to the British colonies: North America in the 1700s, as well as India and the West Indies in the 1800s. Cricket remains the second most popular sport in the world, with over a billion fans mostly based in England and the former British colonies.
As local cricket clubs matured across the colonies in the 19th century, the sport evolved into a symbol of local pride and an outlet for resisting British colonial rule. The most prominent example of this came with the birth of one of the world’s foremost sporting events, the ‘Ashes.’ After Australia’s first win against England on British soil in 1882, The Sporting Times published a satirical obituary for English cricket, writing that English cricket had died and “the body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia.”
India, with an extensive history of oppression by the East India Company, would go one up on England in 1971, completing their first-ever Test victory against England.
Since the introduction of cricket, India has become a major hub for the sport. Of the billion cricket fans worldwide, an estimated 90% are located in the Indian Subcontinent – India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. With a population of 1.4 billion and an average economic growth rate of 6-7% in recent years, India’s strong manufacturing base bolsters its ambitions of becoming a global superpower. As part of these aspirations, India aims to promote cricket and Indian cuisine as cultural exports. The 2024 T20 Cricket World Cup is a prime example, designed to attract U.S. audiences to the sport. Similarly, the Indian Premier League (IPL), which draws the best players from around the globe, captivates 620 million viewers and stands as the second most valuable sports league in the world, trailing only the NFL.
Given the sport’s global appeal, its influence is also mirrored in geopolitics. India and Pakistan, neighbours with a deep cricketing heritage, have remained in intermittent conflict over the Kashmir region since 1947. The sensitivities surrounding the territorial dispute have extended onto the cricket pitch, as neither team has played a Test match series against one another since 2006. When matches do occur, they are often hosted at a neutral venue to reduce friction among fans and serve as a form of diplomacy, providing an opportunity for leaders of the two nations to meet each other in neutral territory.
Cricket has not only reflected global politics but has also served as a platform for protest. In 2000, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, known for his authoritarian rule, initiated land reforms, forcibly seizing 3000 farms from white families through evictions and arrests. Mugabe has also perpetuated serious abuses of human rights in the leadup to the 2002 Zimbabwe Election. Zimbabwe’s most decorated cricketer Andy Flower and his teammate, Henry Olonga, the country’s first black cricketer, used the 2003 World Cup as a stage for protest. During the match between Namibia and Zimbabwe, the two players wore black armbands and released a statement to the press, declaring their protest as “mourning the death of democracy in Zimbabwe.” Their joint activism as two teammates of different races was intended to send a powerful message of national unity and opposition to Mugabe’s regime. The protest was met with negative reactions among Zimbabwean politicians. Olonga was charged with treason, a crime punishable by death in the country, forcing the player to retire from the sport early and live in exile. Likewise, Flower retired from Zimbabwean cricket and settled in the United Kingdom. While both players would never play for Zimbabwe again, Flowers and Olonga were both granted memberships to the Marylebone Cricket Club for their actions. The international community responded with support for the pair, with the Times writing that the players “shine out like diamonds in a pile of mud.”
Mugabe continued to rule Zimbabwe until he was deposed in 2017, but the protest brought his human rights violations to the fore of the international stage.
While cricket may have begun as an upper-class gentleman’s game and was once used to advance cultural imperialism by the British, its global popularity has enabled the sport to be reclaimed by the formerly colonised. The continued success of Australia, the West Indies, and India indicate that the future of the sport lies in their hands.
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