Cricket in South America: Not as obscure as you might think

A game of Cricket being played at picturesque venue in Chile

When we take up the globe to look at the cricket playing nations in South America, after a long hunt we realize there is just one – Guyana. The uncomfortable truth is that cricket is a sport which is predominantly played by a few nations who are also the full members of International Cricket Council (ICC) and are qualified to play Test matches.

ICC just recognizes 10 full members which can play Test matches recognized by the apex governing body of cricket. Unfortunately, cricket has never been able to reach fully to the South American nations.

No country in the region is a full member associate of ICC, with only Argentina and Suriname qualifying as associate members. Other than them, most of the South American nations are affiliate members.

Let us have a look at the exact state of the sport in South America.

(We are not covering Guyana, since they form a part of the West Indies)

1. Argentina – Associate Member

Esteban MacDermott, Captain of the Argentina cricket team

Argentina has been the strongest cricketing nation in South America, with a history of over 200 years. Daniel Juarez has started a project of empowering the sport in the country along with the national team captain Esteban MacDermott.

Juarez says that they are teaching the people in the underprivileged regions the basic laws of the sport. Lucas Aguilera, one of the finds of Daniel Juarez, has been absorbing the technicalities of the sport with aplomb. Judging from his videos, Aguilera seems to have mastered the art of ticking down the ball on the off side to sneak a quick single.

MacDermott has featured for the team since 2004 as an all-rounder. He says that the internet is an important publicity tool for the sport in the country as they are still making a mark for cricket, where all youngsters are budding footballers.

It is also difficult to get equipment in the country as that’s mostly manufactured areas far away from Argentina. This continues to be a major obstacle for the promotion of the sport in the South American region.

The golden era for the sport in the region was the early part of the 20^th century, but the dawn of the World Wars led British settlers to move back to serve their army. Since then, cricket has taken a backward step and today most of the people haven’t even heard the name of the sport.

One great thing about cricket in Argentina is that the girls have become an integral part of the sport, with the country having an active women’s cricket team for all age groups. The country also has a junior girl’s cricket league which is played annually. The women’s team, which played its first recognized game in 2007, is captained by Cata Greloni.

Women’s cricket in Argentina is doing well

As per the records, Argentina is one of the earliest nations to play cricket when dominant forces from the Indian subcontinent probably didn’t even know about the sport. An important role will have to be played by the country’s cricket board to popularize the sport in the continent which serves home to 379,919,602 people.

2. Suriname – Associate member

Iris Jharap

Dr. E Snellpark is the name of one of the finest cricket grounds in the world. But it now looks more like a cattle field after the popularity of the sport took a major dip in Suriname.

Still, cricket today has middling popularity in the region, thanks to the geographical proximity with Guyana, a full member of the ICC and a part of West Indies.

The Dutch population in Suriname continue to play the sport and have been developing the game in the Dutch vicinity. Iris Jharap, a Dutch international who played her last game against the Pakistan women’s team in Karachi, is of Surinamese descent.

Alongside Argentina, Suriname is the only other Associate ICC member from South America and is ranked 47th internationally and 6th in the Americas region of ICC.

3. Chile – Affiliate Member

A game of cricket in Chile

Chile, a country more known for developing footballers like Arturo Vidal and Alexis Sanchez, has a bit of history with modern cricket. Their first fixture was played against Argentina years ago – back in 1893. The First World War saw a slump in the following of the sport, resulting in cricket becoming only a minor game in the country.

Cricket in Chile is played on the picturesque grounds in the capital city of Santiago, Viña del Mar and Iquique. Michael Meade, President of Chilean Cricket Association tells us, "The sport is mostly unknown in the country and is taking baby steps into the development. Cricket in the country is perceived as an elite sport, played by the British and Subcontinent settlers in the South American Nation.”

Asked about the tournaments in the country, Meade said, “The team regularly features as a part of South American Confederations Tournament (SAC), the highlight cricket tournament of the region.”

In our conversation with Michael Meade, we realized that players cannot make a sufficient living with cricket as their profession. But senior players such as Tim Messner (Elementary School Teacher), Guy Hooper (Wine Sales), Simon Shalders (Hotel Owner), Iain Last (Engineering Constant), Hector Fuentazila (Military) and Jose Tomas Andreu (Pilot) continue to ply their trade despite the odds being against them.

For the growth of the sport, Meade rightly points at the need of the countries to tour during the cricket season in Chile. He says, "Brazil, Peru, Chile and Argentina make a nice tour of South America and one can get a good game of cricket in each country.”

If the complete members send their junior teams to the continent for expansion of the sport in the country, there’s no reason why cricket can’t flourish here.

4. Brazil – Affiliate Member

Ashok Gondatra played two Tests for India

Ashok Gondatra, best known for representing the Indian national cricket team in two international matches, is a part of the Brazilian board. Gondatra, born in Rio de Janeiro, played his final international game in 1969 against Australia.

Two of the senior players in the team are also from the Indian subcontinent – Rubabul Islam and Viki Chaudhry.

The Rio cricket club is one of the oldest cricket clubs in South America, but as cricket faded from the main city of Brazil, it was taken up by Sao Paulo. The development of cricket in the region can be credited to British multinational bank HSBC holdings plc. In 1999, HSBC constructed a cricket ground at its staff sports facility, which is now home to three men's teams.

Sao Paulo has three men's teams as well.

Prince Harry impressed young kids in Brazil with his batting skills

Prince Harry, during his visit to Brazil, chose to play a game of cricket in order to promote the sport in a country obsessed with football. Recently, there have been positive strides towards the growth of the sport in a region which has deeper roots with cricket than football. The first recognized game of cricket was played roughly 20 years before the first football game was played in the country.

Henrique Dolabella of the Brazilian international cricket team says that people usually confuse the sport with croquet, but when he introduces himself as a part of the international team, people tend to get curious. With the advent of local night cricket games in the country, the sport is further strengthening its roots as an entertaining sport.

5. Falkland Islands – Affiliate Member

Falklands Cricket Team

Falkland is one of the tiniest nations in the world with a population of little over 2,000. It is famously known for sending really small contingents in international sporting events like the Olympics and Commonwealth Games. Louis Charles Baillon is the only medal winner from the island nation, who won gold as part of England’s hockey team at the 1908 London Olympics.

Cricket was popularized in the region by the British settlers who colonized the island. The first ICC recognized fixture was played against Chile in 2004, and the first victory for Falklands came in Division Four against Costa Rica in which captain Elliot Taylforth took magical figures of 6-14, including one hat-trick.

6. Peru – Affiliate Member

Peru cricket federation flag

‘Chak De’ is the name of a team from Indian subcontinent settlers in Peru, who play in the domestic season of the country. Cricket in Peru is played in the Lima Cricket and Football grounds and has been taking small steps towards the development of the sport into other cities of the country.

Cricket has a 150-year history in Peru. Recently, Peru Cricket has started a Twenty20 league which has been received well by the people of the nation. The sport is developing at a good pace here, and we can expect to hear more stories about Peru Cricket soon.

7. Turks and Caicos Islands – Affiliate Member

Turks and Caicos Cricket Team

A 50-over tournament played in Argentina featuring five teams – Belize, Brazil, Chile, Peru and Turks & Caicos Islands, had a stunning climax with three teams in a position to win the tournament before the final ball of the tournament. The eventual winners were the Turks and Caicos Islands, who were promoted to Division II.

The crux of the team’s triumph lies in the fact that the Island is an overseas territory of Britain with a population of almost 30,000 people. Cricket is played at Gustarvus and Parade Ground stadiums, which are used for other sports as well.

Colin Steerling from Turks and Caicos cricket says that there is very less information available on the internet about the state of cricket in the country, and to produce more information will take time. Turks is a small British overseas territory but has already won a few tournaments despite being relatively insignificant in terms of area and population.

Promotion of the sport in the region

South Americans are naturally compatible to cricket; they can hit the ball long and at good speed consistently. To take the sport further there needs to be a collective initiative by the ICC and the cricket boards of the Test-playing nations.

Michael Meade, President of Chile Cricket

Meade has taken keen interest to promote the game in the continent. He looks at South America as a region which can be a strong force in the coming years, perhaps at internationally competitive levels in the years to come.

With recent development activities by Meade and Juarez, the sport has started its journey at a good speed in South America.

One thing that emerges after a discussion with Michael Meade of Cricket Association of Chile is that cricket can only be made a strong sport in the continent if the major cricket boards send their junior teams to tour in South America.