The Role of Cricket in the Caribbean

This Think Piece looks at one of the many short stories written by Trinidadian writer and story teller Mr. Paul Keens-Douglas. It is based on a story entitled ‘Tanti at de Oval’. Firstly, the Think Piece will begin with a summary of the story; secondly it will look at several aspects of the story and will attempt to relate them to my understanding of Caribbean peoples and cultures. Finally, it will look at the role that the game of cricket plays in the region.

The story ‘Tanti at the Oval’ is written in ‘trini’ dialect, and begins with a frustrated man reluctantly taking his 65 year old Vincentian relative ‘Tanti Merle’ to the Queens Park Oval to watch a cricket match after being forced to do so by his wife. The match is between the Trinidad & Tobago Cricket Team and the Combined Islands Cricket Team. Tanti Merle has been living in Curepe for the past fifteen (15) years but any chance she gets, she brags about being from St Vincent. Tanti Merle carries several baskets of food to the Oval and creates quite a stir from the moment she enters the taxi until the game ends. The story goes on to depict Tanti Merle as being very animated and engaged at the Oval. She gets into a ‘cuss out’ with a ‘bad john’ at the Oval, brags about being from St Vincent, shares foods with other patrons (including the ‘bad john’), criticizes the umpires, and finally goes onto the field at the end of the game to celebrate with other individuals from the ‘small islands’. The humorous story ends with the man returning home and vowing never to take Tanti Merle to watch cricket again.

The story depicts Tanti Merle as being proud to be from St Vincent. She appears eager to let everyone know about the history of St Vincent. The story doesn’t say how long she had been living in Trinidad, but it does mention that she had been living in Curepe for at least fifteen (15) years. Despite the number of years that she has spent in Trinidad, it doesn’t appear that she feels much affiliation to...