Book description
Globalizing Cricket examines the global role of the sport - how it
developed and spread around the world. The book explores the origins of
cricket in the eighteenth century, its establishment as England's
national game in the nineteenth, the successful (Caribbean) and
unsuccessful (American) diffusion of cricket as part of the development
of the British Empire and its role in structuring contemporary
identities amongst and between the English, the British and postcolonial
communities. Whilst empirically focused on the sport itself, the book
addresses broader issues such as social development, imperialism, race,
diaspora and national identities. Tracing the beginnings of cricket as a
'folk game' through to the present, it draws together these different
strands to examine the meaning and social significance of the modern
game. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in the role of
sport in both colonial and post-colonial periods; the history and
peculiarities of English national identity; or simply intrigued by the
game and its history. Sport is currently the hottest topic in Global
Studies and this ambitious book, combining an historical sociology of
cricket with a sophisticated understanding of the global trends shaping
the game, is set to become the leader in its field. It captures the
changing nature of cricket, dealing with both global developments and
the impact of these developments on the game in England. -- Chris
Rumford, Professor Of Political Sociology And Global Politics, Royal
Holloway, University Of London, UK Dominic Malcolm is Senior Lecturer
in the Sociology of Sport at Loughborough University. He is co-editor of
The Changing Face of Cricket: From Imperial to Global Game, and The
Social Organization of Sports Medicine, and author of Sport and
Sociology and The Sage Dictionary of Sports Studies.
