ABSTRACT
The subject of cricket and colonialism has attracted much recent attention and there is a growing body of literature on the importation and adaptation of this game to various, mainly colonial, societies. The central focus has been why the game flourished in some societies but was largely rejected in others. In the recent literature on the acceptance/rejection/adaptation of cricket in colonial societies, historians have focused on five main categories of explanation. Behind the numerous minor differences and shades of emphasis from study to study lie two major differences of interpretation and approach. There are many possible areas of conflict which await exploration: the relationships between the many constituent elements involved in a sport including colonial ideologists and officials and their representatives in colonial society, players, amateur and professional, journalists, business interests, spectators, and society at large.
