Evita Burned Down Our Pavilion

Viac o knihe

Cricket was the first sport played in nearly every country in the Americas, preceding football, rugby, and baseball. By 1877, when the inaugural Test match took place in Australia, Uruguay and Argentina had already established a cricket rivalry. Visionary cricket historian Rowland Bowen noted that, during the peak of cricket in South America between the World Wars, the continent could have produced a Test nation. In Buenos Aires, British expatriates contributed to a high standard of cricket, with notable figures like Lord Hawke and Plum Warner leading teams that were even defeated by Argentina. A combined team from Argentina, Brazil, and Chile faced English first-class counties in 1932, hinting at the potential for cricket's growth in the region. However, the narrative extends beyond sports to encompass social history, showcasing the resilience and industriousness of the New World. West Indian fruit workers in Costa Rica created cricket fields amid challenging conditions, while Chile's Nitrate King embraced the sport. Emperors in Brazil and Mexico leveraged cricket for political favor, and even Pablo Escobar had ties to the game. The sport's decline was epitomized by Eva Peron's order to burn down the Buenos Aires Cricket Club pavilion when it resisted her welfare initiatives. Journalists Timothy Abraham and James Coyne explore this largely untold story, offering a fascinating perspective on cricket's legacy in South America