cricket popular or unpopular in west indies?

[mahim]

hi-i am from india-i just want to ask anybody living in the west indies-

is cricket still a popular sport there(there has been so much said in recent times)

is it no 1 or behind some sport/sports-what rank it is in sports watched?

[Nostromo]

The answer is not straightforward. I discussed this at length with several locals during a long Caribbean break a few years ago. Cricket as a game is still very popular but not enough youngsters are actually playing the game seriously at school level - at least seriously enough to make a career out of it. There is a growing belief - probably not incorrect - that "there is not much money in cricket". Many Caribbean youngsters are looking at other sporting opportunities like soccer or basketball, the latter probably in the US.

[Ninjaman]

The answer IS straightforward.

The answer is YES.

In sports watched it is not #1 as football and other sports piped in via televlision gain more spectators. Cable TV is dominated by US sports and for a quick fix you are not going to watch anything mroe than a few hours in length.

It wasn't always the #1 sport watched when WI were at their pomp!!!

The WI is not uniform. Cricket is bigger in Barbados than it is in Jamaica where football has always been big.

All sports are in competition with each other for the attention of a people.

Cricket is not a mass spectator TV sport and any sport (like most others) that can keep its action down to 2 hours or less will win on that forum.

And if you are going to build something for the kids to do, which is easier. a basketball court or a cricket pitch??

There is more money in WI cricket than WI basketball.

None of these guys are going to conceivably make the NBA or any other professional basketball league unless they've left on a scholarship by 19 and that rarely happens.

They are not seeing the money they can earn, they are seeing the success and fame and playing the sport to emulate it. They have not seen a successful WI cricket side so why would they flock to play that?

As globalisation and the false mantra of free trade continues to bite and things get harder in the Caribbean, a quick fix mantality hits the poor who will do anything to either hit the nig time or make them think they've hit the big time.

The demographics of the region are that nearly all these boys are black.

So who do you think they are going tio try and copy.

A league of majority black millionaires who are feted as brilliant even if they are playing for a losing side (The NBA)

Or a team that loses most of its games? (WI cricket team)

But regardless of how popular a sport is, once you';ve chosen to take it upon yourself to play that sport as your own, you should be executing the basics properly.

I don't think a single Ennglishman or Aussie would accept that people are watching football or rugby as an excuse for averaging just 20.

[mahim]

anybody who answers this-just tell me if u r living in west indies or not and its a question only to them.

where does cricket rank in west indian(on an average of the west indian region that officially falls into the bracket that can play for west indies in cricket) sports in terms of watched sports-which is no 1 in this category?

is cricket a good spectator sport in west indies?

ps-incase u mention football-tell me which football are u talking about-soccer or gridon or whatever.

[Maranello]

That's an interesting post Ninjaman, one with which I generally agree.. have a few observations/thoughts for you to chew over...

Originally Posted by Ninjaman

Cricket is not a mass spectator TV sport and any sport (like most others) that can keep its action down to 2 hours or less will win on that forum.

It is exactly that in the sub-continent though - not just a mass-spectator TV sport, but the TV sport. Amongst the casual sports fans, or even those who don't follow sport much, ODI cricket is much more popular here than any 2 hour contest in any other sport is.

Originally Posted by Ninjaman

And if you are going to build something for the kids to do, which is easier. a basketball court or a cricket pitch??

In Pakistan, everyone, from the age of 7 to 70 (or actually, from 2 to 90) plays cricket in any spare sporting time they might have, and generally, this is played on streets, parks, fields, car parks, etc - no pitches are prepared or needed. The cost of building a basketball court there would be prohibitively expensive, compared to the $3 expenditure needed to convert your local park into an ad-hoc cricket pitch!

[mahim]

hi- are u from pakistan-i mean do u live there

just tell is pak like india-one sport nation-sturated with cricket

[Wanderer]

Originally Posted by Ninjaman

There is more money in WI cricket than WI basketball.

They are not seeing the money they can earn, they are seeing the success and fame and playing the sport to emulate it.

Can Stanford change that image? Okay, Twenty/20 is not test or ODI cricket, but at least it will get people exited again about cricket in the Windies, right? From what I saw during last year's inaugural Twenty/20 in the Windies, the stadiums were full. It's attracting a new generation of cricketers to the game. And maybe that's where it all starts...

[mahim]

will somebody living in west indies tell me that where does cricket rank in west indian sports?

[Henners]

Cricket is the main sport in very few countries. Over here in England, it is the 2nd most played and I think it is equal to Rugby, which is also popular among people.

Cricket is the number 1 sport in Australia, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka. I am not sure about New Zealand and South africa as Rugby is popular there. Bangladesh, Kenya and zimbawbe play a host of sports but due to there "wealth", cricket is not invested largely in.

Cricket isn't too popular in Europe, South America or the Far East.

[Speedboy Salesman]

Originally Posted by Wanderer

From what I saw during last year's inaugural Twenty/20 in the Windies, the stadiums were full.

And from what I remember, the first West Indies World Cup (against Pakistan was it?) match in the last Cricket World Cup, the stands were packed. I can't remember if they were full, but I don't think I've ever heard anything quite like a roar when a West Indian takes a wicket in the West Indies

What the West Indies needs is naturally talented youngsters, which is a big ask I know, but cricket in England was in the doldrums until the Ashes 2005, then it seems it was on the front page on every paper, and kids grabbing some bats and stumps and trundling down to the park to try to copy the likes of Flintoff, Pietersen et al. I would say if any time in the future where the West Indies beat teams like Australia, it'll be the same thing.