England’s Colonial Legacy—Cricket by Alec Waugh

ALEC WAUGH

A few weeks back London newspapers carried photographs of a riot in Calcutta. At a first glance it was a familiar scene: a blazing bonfire, smashed furniture, dark-featured figures gesticulating in long white robes. Yet there was a difference about this riot. It was staged not outside an American embassy or the offices of the British Information Services, but on a cricket field, on the occasion of an international contest – “test match” is the technical phrase for it. Nor was it a demonstration against the unsportsmanlike behavior of the Indians’ former masters. The match was between India and the West Indies. There was no apparent reason for this outbreak. Play had not even started on the second day. The crowd was not protesting against anything.

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ALEC WAUGH

A few weeks back London newspapers carried photographs of a riot in Calcutta. At a first glance it was a familiar scene: a blazing bonfire, smashed furniture, dark-featured figures gesticulating in long white robes. Yet there was a difference about this riot. It was staged not outside an American embassy or the offices of the British Information Services, but on a cricket field, on the occasion of an international contest – “test match” is the technical phrase for it. Nor was it a demonstration against the unsportsmanlike behavior of the Indians’ former masters. The match was between India and the West Indies. There was no apparent reason for this outbreak. Play had not even started on the second day. The crowd was not protesting against anything.