Globalizing Cricket

This book is available as open access through the Bloomsbury Open Access programme and is available on www.bloomsburycollections.com. 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.

Cricket has changed dramatically in recent years and now can claim to be a truly global game, thanks in large part to new media technologies which bring a global audience for World Cups and other major competitions. However, the globalization of cricket has not followed a pattern familiar in other sports: concentrations of wealth, media, and marketing leading to the domination of Western countries over the rest, and this fact alone makes it interesting for scholars of the globalization of sport. Cricket has followed a very different global path; the non-Western countries (former British colonies) have begun to dominate and have taken control of the economics and politics of the game. In short, cricket has been “Indianized”. The globalization of cricket has received a massive boost from the popularity of the newest form of the game (Twenty20) which is helping promote cricket as a mass TV sport. The rise of Twenty20, particularly the Indian Premier League (IPL), is transforming the way cricket is organized, played, and watched all over the world. This development both reinforces the globalization of cricket and also underlines that the “movers and shakers” within cricket are no longer the traditional elites in metropolitan centres but the businessmen of India and the media entrepreneurs world-wide who seek to shape new audiences for the game and create new marketing opportunities on a global scale.

This ambitious new study argues that not only is the story of cricket inescapably entwined with that of capitalism, but that the game provides a unique lens with which to understand the history, development, exigencies and contradictions of capitalist political economy. From the aristocratic capture of the artisan’s game to the commodified entertainment of private T20 leagues, the story of cricket has been told against the background of capitalism. Cricket was the gentlemanly vanguard of the English-led British empire which forged the first iteration of international capitalism that was reliant upon a political and commercial partnership between rulers and the ruled, and today it speaks to the productive tension between the emergence of the Asian century and the power of American cultural imperialism. Reading capitalism as a cultural, economic and political system, this book explores the relationship between cricket and capitalism, and illuminates many of the most important themes in contemporary sport studies, such as class, race, gender, globalisation, nationalism, neoliberalism, commodification and migration. This is fascinating reading for anybody with an interest in sport history, the sociology of sport, global political economy, political theory or cultural studies.

Globalizing Cricket examines the global role of cricket's of development, diffusion of cricket through colonization, and impact on the changing notions of English national identity.

Sport can be a vehicle for the expression of identity, and also a factor in the shaping of identity. This book explores the complex interrelationships between nations, regions and states in the landscape of contemporary international sport, with a particular focus on identity. Exploring important themes such as the geopolitics of sports events, contested identities, and ownership of sport and its impact on sporting cultures, the book presents contemporary and historical cases from around the world, including football in a divided Ireland; sport and the anti-Apartheid movement; Chinese sporting nationalism and soft power; and the role of sport media in the shaping of Catalan identity. This is an important resource for students and researchers working in Sports Studies, Sports Journalism, Sports Management Studies, Sports Marketing, Football Studies, Sport and Identity Studies, Sociology of Sport Studies, and Cultural Studies.

Bringing together many of the most influential scholars in sport and media studies, this book examines the diverse ways that media influences our understanding of the world’s most important sport events, dubbed sports mega-events. It sheds new light on how these events have been changed by the media, and have, in turn, adapted to media to further their brand’s cultural influence. Focusing on the central concept of "mediatization" – the permeation of media into all spheres of contemporary life – the book presents original case studies of major events including the Olympics, FIFA, rugby and cricket World Cups, Tour de France, Super Bowl, World Series, Monaco Grand Prix, Wimbledon, and many more. Written from a truly international perspective, this is a seminal work in sport and media studies that reveals the growing political, economic, and cultural influences of sport mega-events in contemporary society. Sport, Media and Mega-Events is an essential text for any course on the sociology of sport, event management, sport marketing, or featuring a cultural, communication or media studies approach to sport.

List of Figures. Preface. 1. Globalization I: Liquids, Flows, and Structures. Some of the Basics. From Solids to Liquids (to Gases). Flows. Does Globalization Hop Rather Than Flow? Heavy, Light, Weightless. Heavy Structures That Expedite Flows. Heavy Structures as Barriers to Flows. Subtler Structural Barriers. Structure and Process. On the Increasing Ubiquity of Global Flows (and Processes) and Structures. Thinking About Global Flows and Structures. Chapter Summary. 2. Globalization II: Some Basic Issues, Debates, and Controversies. Is There Such a Thing as Globalization? If There Is Such a Thing as Globalization, When Did It Begin? Globalization or Globalizations? What Drives Globalization? If There Is Such a Thing as Globalization, Is It Inexorable? Does Globaphilia or Globaphobia Have the Upper Hand? If Globalization Is Not Inexorable, Has It Gone Too Far? What, if Anything, Can be Done About Globalization? Chapter Summary. 3. Globalization and Related Processes I: Imperialism, Colonialism, Development, Westernization, Easternization. Imperialism. Colonialism. Development. Westernization. Easternization. Comparisons with Globalization. The Era of the "Posts". Chapter Summary. 4. Globalization and Related Processes II: Americanization and Anti-Americanism. Clarifying Americanization. Some Useful Conceptual Distinctions. America's Logistical Technologies. A Broader and Deeper View of the Americanization of Consumer Culture. An American Empire? Minimizing the Importance of Americanization. Anti-Americanism. Post-Americanization. Chapter Summary. 5. Neo-Liberalism: Roots, Principles, Criticisms, and Neo-Marxian Alternatives. The Past, Present, and Future of Neo-Liberalism. Neo-Liberalism: An Exemplary Statement and the Basic Principles. Popular Neo-Liberal "Theory": The Case of Thomas Friedman. Critiquing Neo-Liberalism. Neo-Liberalism as Exception. Neo-Liberalism: The Case of Israel The End of History. The Death of Neo-Liberalism? Neo-Marxian Theoretical Alternatives to Neo-Liberalism. Chapter Summary. 6. Global Political Structures and Processes. On Political Processes and Flows. The Nation-State. Threats to the Nation-State. In Defense of the Nation-State. "Imagined Community". Changes in Global Nation-State Relations. Other Global Political Developments and Structures. Regional Political Organizations. Global Governance. Civil Society. Other Players. Chapter Summary. 7. Structuring the Global Economy. Before Bretton Woods. Bretton Woods and the Bretton Woods System. The End of Bretton Woods. Changes in, and Critiques of, Bretton-Woods-Era Organizations. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). European Union (Common Market). North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). MERCOSUR. OPEC. The Multinational Corporation (MNC). World Economic Forum. The Myth of Economic Globalization? Chapter Summary. 8. Global Economic Flows: Production and Consumption. Trade. Increasing Competition for Commodities. The Economic Impact of the Flow of Oil. Race to the Bottom and Upgrading. Outsourcing. Financial Globalization. Corporations, People, and Ideas. Consumption. Chapter Summary. 9. Global Culture and Cultural Flows. Cultural Differentialism. Cultural Hybridization. Cultural Convergence. Cultural Imperialism. Chapter Summary . 10. High-Tech Global Flows and Structures: Technology, Media, and the Internet. Technology. Media. The Internet. Chapter Summary. 11. Global Flows of People: Vagabonds and Tourists. Migrants. Migration. Tourists and Tourism. Chapter Summary. 12. Global Environmental Flows. Differences among Nation-States. Collapse. The Leading Environmental Problems. Global Responses. Chapter Summary 13. Negative Global Flows and Processes: Dangerous Imports, Diseases, Crime, Terrorism, War. Dangerous Imports. Borderless Diseases. Crime. Corruption. Terrorism. War. The Impact of Negative Global Flows on Individuals. Chapter Summary. 14. Global Inequalities I: Patterns of Inequality. Inequality. Rural-Urban. Chapter Summary. 15. Global Inequalities II: Global Majority-Minority Relations. Majority-Minority Relations in a Global Context. Social Definitions. Race and Ethnicity. Ethnicity. Race. Gender. Children. Sexual Minorities: Gays and Lesbians. Responding to and Resisting Minority Status: The Case of Women. Chapter Summary. 16. Dealing with, Resisting, and the Futures of, Globalization. Dealing with Globalization. Resisting Globalization. The Futures of Globalization. Chapter Summary. Appendix: Disciplinary Approaches to Globalization. Anthropology. Sociology. Political Science. Economics. Geography. Psychology. Literary Criticism (Postcolonial). Other Fields. Glossary. Index.