'The Empire Plays Back'. The Translation of a sport from centre to Periphery"

This article considers the meanings of cricket as the sport was “translated” from its original British context to that of the British colonies. How do the meanings that a sport such as cricket embodies travel to other, subordinate contexts? How can these meanings change? Sports have “internal” meanings, related to specific techniques and traditions, but these meanings are not hermetic and can change in relation to context. The process of the translation of meanings, moreover, is not one-way and always creates the space for a dialogical relation to the original meanings and contexts. The article looks in particular at the meanings of cricket in the West Indies, in particular through the work of C.L.R. James, stressing the ways that cricket could be used to “play back” against dominant colonial paradigms.