Cage cricket has been played in Barbados since 2013, but growth has been relatively slow. That may be about to change as local organisers are plotting to get the sport into more schools, and into the community. Discussions are ongoing to partner with the Republic bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) and to get the sport into other Caribbean countries.
Cage cricket is a unique version of cricket which can be played by just about anyone, notwithstanding skill level, age, or fitness. Played in an enclosed space at a fast pace, Sheromie Brewster, head of Cage London, said cage is truly a sport for all.
“Cage cricket is an amazing Initiative for all age groups, all abilities to play cricket, just getting back into the game of cricket,” she insisted. “So it’s literally six players, one winner. You play as an individual, you get to bat, bowl, field, and umpire in one game, and there’s an ultimate winner at the end.
“What’s great about cage cricket is it allows you as an individual in regards to communication, you get to work as a team. It’s about giving the younger ones more of an appeal to play cricket and use those skills in life as well. So it could be communication, team building, team bonding, critical thinking, all comes through cricket. So we always say it’s an important opportunity for life skills as well.”
Cage cricket can be played indoors and outdoors. Four sides are required. Future plans for cage cricket in Barbados include taking the game to more schools. Some tournaments have been played at that level, with more being planned at the moment.
The CPL angle, Brewster explained, would be to get the sport added to the spectator experience.
The sport is played across England, Australia, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, and the USA. Khismar Catlyn of Cage Barbados is adamant that the potential of the game is far greater than is being seen for the time being.
“I think that this game here of cage cricket has a lot of benefits,” he stressed. “It can be used as a talent identifier, to identify those little boys and little girls that do have some cricketing ability, that can be worked on towards the future, to get them branching off into the traditional cricket teams.
“In terms of the community aspect, I think that this is a wonderful sport that can actually bring back that community comraderie that the [Barbados Cricket League] would have had many years ago. It’s a six a side competition, and we have a lot of basketball, volleyball, and netball courts across the island that are not being used outside of those main sports being played.”
Brewster and Catlyn want to evangelise the sport outside of Barbados as well. Within the next 5-10 years, the goal is to have the best schoolboys and schoolgirls from around the region competing against each other.
“So we would have communicated with some Caribbean islands already,” said Catlyn. “Guyana, Dominica, for example, where we’re looking to just have some future tours. Going over to those countries to introduce it to the school and the community setup and then spread from there.”
The two administrators, who’ve kicked off the 2024-2025 school year with competition among students as well as celebrity games at various schools, are confident that cage cricket can help revive and grow interest in the sport locally, and they have said that they are prepared to put in the work to make that a reality.
(TF)
