Far Pavilions?: Cricket Migrants, Foreign Sojourns and Contested Identities

Abstract

This research probes the more recent features of the long term migration phenomenon with particular reference to the overseas migrant in English cricket. This migration is part of a broader process of sports labour migration. The rules and regulations governing migrant access to English cricket were investigated and the extent and form of overseas migration established. The range of donor countries reflects both the spread of cricket and the strong British colonial influence. Interviews with a sample of players focused on personal and professional objectives, their employment negotiations and conditions, their personal and professional adjustments and their sense of cultural and national identity. English cricket is the 'global finishing school'. Migration was viewed as a logical step for professional development. Loneliness and insecurity figured highly. Questions of attachment to place, notions of self identity and allegiance to a specific country emerged as important elements in the experience of cricket migrants. The paper concludes with a more detailed discussion of the issue of identity, cricket and sports labour migration.