Analysis of "The Cricket Match"
Samuel Dickson Selvon’s, The Cricket Match, was written in 1957 and focuses on how little the English and the West Indies understood one another. The story takes place in London during a cricket match. Here the West Indians, who really do not play cricket, are plating the English and some of the best players in the world at that time. A West Indies man, Algernon is almost like the spokesman of the West Indies. He talks a big game but the most cricket he has ever played was as a boy in the streets one day. When approached by an English man, Charles, who offers to play the West Indians Algernon and his friend Roy are hesitant but not wanting to seem afraid the accept. Roy and Algernon rush to get a team of fellow workers and friends together to discuss rather they want to play or not, all men agree to play. When game day arrives the West Indies team only has eight show up and hoping they might postpone the game, the English agree to play with eight too. When Algernon comes to bat, he has a weird, goofy stance that the English had never seen before. When the bowler goes to bowl the ball Algernon closes his eyes and swings so hard the ball goes right out of the stadium. The English were so amazed; they just stopped to watch the ball fly through the air. After the shot it starts to rain the all the men head to a local pub to talk and hang out. Charles tells Algernon that they will have to come back down to finish the match because they were yet to bowl. Algernon agrees but makes up many excuses on why they won’t be able to make it. He tells Charles that he will be back down next cricket season with a sharp eleven to