Can cricket be an agent of change, and break barriers?

Abstract

One thing is certain. Beyond a Boundary is neither a ghost-written celebrity Obiography, nor a cash-in publication following the economic rise of the postcolonials in cricket, particularly the Indian subcontinent. A stark contrast to the lassitude and superficiality of the contemporary sports writing-often a compliant servant of the profit mongers, C.L.R. James’ (1901-1989) Beyond a Boundary explores the place of cricket in the Caribbean and England, arguing that what happened inside the “boundary line” in cricket affected and was a reflection of life beyond it. The new edition of C.L.R. James’ 1963 book came out recently to celebrate fifty years since its first publication, and fittingly at a time when cricket has become a multi-million dollar industry with far-reaching social and economic ramifications seemingly as never before: corruptions are abound, books cooked, matches fixed, performances enhanced and much more. James has not talked about all these issues, but points out, carefully and provocatively, how the sport mirrors the complex nature of the society and the time in which it lives. During the course of the book’s 260 odd pages, he has combined his incisive sociological analysis and fervent passion for cricket, which in his words, “neither cricket reminiscences nor autobiography.”