Michael Henderson

Whispering death

What happened to Britain’s West Indian cricket fans?

issue 23 June 2012

It is midsummer, and England are playing the West Indies at cricket. The teams have completed a three-Test series, which England won 2-0, and they are now playing five matches of 50 overs a side, a form of the game that suits the big-hitting Caribbean batsmen. You would have thought that West Indian supporters would be flocking to the ground, yet they are staying away in their thousands.

At Lord’s, Trent Bridge and Edgbaston, which staged the Test matches, the West Indian supporters could have arrived on a decent-sized bus. Returning to Lord’s last week, for a one-day game against Middlesex, played in excellent weather, you could count the black faces on the fingers of four hands. Sadly, West Indians born in this country have given up on the game that meant so much to their parents and grandparents.

There was a time when you couldn’t keep them away.

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