The bat guitar, created by Michael PlummerGeorgia Hemmings, Staff Reporter
IT IS fitting that an exhibition on cricket opened at the African Caribbean Institute of Jamaica/Jamaica Memory Bank (ACIJ/JMB), in downtown Kingston, just as the region was celebrating and savouring the historic win by the West Indies cricket team against Australia in Antigua recently.
"Hitting Across the Line: History of Cricket in Jamaica" formally opened on May 14, the day after the fourth and final Test, and pride and euphoria in the team's performance was evident at the ceremony which was attended by a fair-sized crowd of cricket enthusiasts, students, local cricket club representatives, and academics from the University of the West Indies.
The exhibition is part of the Institute's continuing educational programme to develop awareness among Jamaicans about their ancestral and cultural heritage and its influence on their lives. This time round, the focus on cricket is designed to explore the development of the game in Jamaica and stimulate discussion about it as a metaphor for struggle and resistance, and liberation and Independence. And, while the emphasis is on Jamaican cricket, it mirrors developments in other territories.
ELITE CLASS
According to the exhibition script, when cricket was introduced in Jamaica in the 19th century, it was synonymous with the elite class. The clubs developed among the planters as private refuges for members, and the presence of persons from a lower social class was undesirable. Kingston Cricket Club (KCC), formed in 1863, had Governor Eyre (of Morant Bay Rebellion fame) as its first patron.
The game played then was mostly social not serious and competitive and facilitated social interaction among the elites. The game was important in elite schools such as The Church of England and Collegiate School, the Potsdam Free School in St. Elizabeth and York Castle High School and these schools were important in the early development of cricket in Jamaica.
Among the masses, cricket developed (literally and figuratively) on the periphery as the black population received their first exposure to cricket as spectators at elite matches. Where they played the games on the beaches, backyard, canefields, streets they were forced to improvise, using things like coconut boughs for bats. One such bat is on show in the exhibition, along with the "juice box" ball used by modern-day children in playing the game.
However, by the beginning of the 20th century, a few blacks entered some of the secondary schools where cricket was important, e.g. Wolmer's Boys' School, and so blacks got exposed to organised club cricket. Many business places and professionals also organised teams which offered their black employees the opportunity to play the game.
CRICKET AMONG THE MASSES
The exhibition shows that the growth of cricket among the masses translated in the formation of a number of lower class cricket clubs, one of the most significant being the Lucas Cricket Club, which went on to perform outstandingly in Senior Cup cricket. The success of Lucas and other clubs, coupled with individual players' successes, contributed greatly to the growth of the game, so that by the end of the first decade of the 20th century, whites, coloureds, and blacks were competing with and among each other on the cricket field a remarkable development.
These changes were also reflected in the composition of the national team, where more blacks and coloureds were being incorporated. So that, a photograph of the Jamaican cricket team in the 1930s showed only a minority of white players.
IDEOLOGY OF RESISTANCE
The exhibition details how, with increasing black participation, cricket became something with which the masses could identify and thus became popular.
The latter decades of the 20th century saw socio-economic changes which were reflected in the cricket structure. For example, secondary schools were no longer for the fortunate few, and this opened many opportunities for the masses to become involved in cricket. New competitions were introduced, Jamaica's team were selected on merit, and captains were no longer chosen on the basis of colour or status.
Thus the exhibition's theme is revealed cricket as an ideology of resistance, a medium through which the Jamaican (and West Indian) masses have expressed their dissatisfaction with the status quo, and the inequalities and inequities, and brought about change; "hitting across the line", as the title expounded.
Cricket in the post-Independence era has seen Jamaica doing well in regional competitions, more professionalism entering the sport and, correspondingly, a new era of commercialism and profit.
CRICKET AND GLOBALISATION
Guest speaker at the opening, Dr. Christine Cummings made reference to this new dispensation in Caribbean cricket in her presentation.
She spoke about cricket as a repository of culture, but noted that the game in today's global environment has been altered a lot by new technologies and revised geo-political landscapes, and increasing commercialism in order to survive financially.
The UWI lecturer made a plea for the "regeneration of our product, borrowing where necessary, but retaining, at all costs, the distinctive flavour of West Indian cricket."
She said that there was a need for cricketers, fans, businessmen and cricket administrators to unite to build the product, and that, in order to ensure the development of young players, the game "must return to the beaches, streets, cow pastures, concrete pavements where the game first evolved among the masses."
The exhibition features full colour poster boards, rare photographs, cricket objects, artefacts and other memorabilia, as well as looping films on Jamaican cricket. Cricket gloves (tips), bats, batting pads are displayed, as well as the conch shell blown during cricket matches.
A unique, interesting "Bat Guitar", invented by Jamaican artisan, Michael Plummer, is also displayed. Dedicated primarily to Bob Marley and Courtney Walsh, the artistic invention is designed to emphasise cultural awareness, and is built and framed within a cricket "stump and bails."
There is one storyboard dedicated to George Headley, one of the most significant Jamaican players of the 20th century. According to the organisers, "Headley's exploits were important because they came at a time when blacks were told that they were not created equal to whites, could not rule themselves, and could not bat... His performance helped fuel a rising nationalism with an emphasis on black nationalism that had been stimulated by Marcus Garvey."
RARE PHOTOS
A rare photograph of the West Indies cricket team in 1963 is autographed by the 'greats', among them Kanhai, Butcher, Carew, Worrell, Valentine, Sobers, Minott, Allan, McMorris, and Hunte.
Another rare one shows Garfield Sobers and Collie Smith together at tea. And there are photographs of Lawrence Rowe, Maurice Foster, Allan Rae, Neville Bonitto, Jackie Hendricks, Easton McMorris, Courtney Walsh, Jeff Dujon, and Michael Holding in action.
In this season of "cricket, lovely cricket", the exhibition is an interesting, enlightening one. And not only for avid cricket lovers or fans, but also for students and other members of the public who can benefit from information about this aspect of our legacy which, hopefully, will endure for generations to come.
The only drawback is the few cricketing memorabilia on show, but, as ACIJ acting director, David Brown, told The Sunday Gleaner, "it was not easy getting clubs and individuals to part with their collectibles, even for an exhibition like this."
"Hitting Across the Line: History of Cricket in Jamaica" is scheduled to run for three months, up to August, proving ample time for all to view leisurely. Viewing hours are Monday to Thursday, 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and, on Friday, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
