Cricket in the Dominican Republic - Really?
The English-speaking islands of the West Indies and cricket are synonymous in the minds of cricket fanatics, but what about in the Spanish speaking Caribbean countries – especially the Dominican Republic, is cricket still unknown or at best a novelty? Read on and find out more…..
Surprisingly there is a Cricket Club, The Dominican Cricket Association was founded in 2006 in Santo Domingo the capital of the Dominican Republic, composed mainly of cricketing superpowers like India and Pakistan who are now living and studying in the Dominican Republic. There is however a slightly longer cricket history than a mere few years in the Dominican Republic. Not surprisingly the answer lies in the “Cocolo” connection.
What or who is this? A brief explanation..
Cocolo are the migrants from the English-speaking Caribbean who started arriving in the Dominican Republic in the late 19th century, who brought with them their love of cricket. Cocolo or the term Cocolo was originally a pejorative term for migrants working on the British sugar plantations of the islands. These migrants set up their own churches, schools, benevolent societies and lodges providing mutual assistance and organizing collective cultural events such as cricket matches and in San Pedro de Macoris the annual Cocolo Dancing Drama. Cocolo history combines traditions from both Africa and Britain and bears testimony to a very particular part of history within the Dominican Republic. So there are two parts but intricately connected, the African part with influences which are mainly specific values, customs and rules, very distincitive culinary and medical 
traditions along with music and dancing (hence annual Cocolo Dancing Drama), and the British counterpart is communicated by language and largely institutions such as churches, lodges, sports clubs – CRICKET- and some dancing traditions that resemble medieval troubadour scenes. Older members of the Cocolo community still speak their particular form of Caribbean English at home and have bypassed the national language of Spanish in the Dominican Republic. The Colcolo community have somewhat now been dispersed and live in different locations in and around the Dominican Republic, making the old traditions harder to keep up with in younger generations.
Back to Cricket in the Dominican Republic
Several big names are lending their support to the new Dominican Cricket Association, former Canadian ambassador to the Dominican Republic, Alvin Curling who is of Jamaican origin and also former United Kingdom ambassador Andy Ashcroft. Together with the help of Dominican nationals and Dominican based cricket fans who have developed a passion for cricket whilst living and working in the United Kingdom.
The new British ambassador to the Dominican Republic, Ian Worthington is the chairman of the association and the Indian honorary consul is also a member. The Dominican Republic’s envoy to India is Ambassador Hans Dannenberg Castellanos and whilst India is the cricket capital of the world, the Dominican Republic is also finding opportunities for both nations to share wealth and fight poverty. After all when Columbus set foot on the island of Hispaniola he thought he had arrived in India! Very few Spanish speaking nations have embassies in New Delhi but taking advantage of the Cricket World cup in the Caribbean that was held in March/April of 2007, the tiny embassy saw a steady stream of Indian cricket fans getting visas to the Dominican Republic as a “break from the tension of the competition in the West Indies."
The Santo Domingo Cricketers meet to play every Saturday and Sunday afternoon from 3.00pm to 6.00pm at The UASD/The Autonomous University of Santo Domingo basketball pitch. They do welcome new members, so why not pop down and see what they are up to? The Dominican Cricket Association has received generous support from the International Cricket Council of the Americas.
The Rules of Cricket as Explained to a Foreign Visitor
You have two sides, one out in the field and one in.
Each man that’s in the side that’s in, goes out, and when he’s out, he comes in and the next man goes in until he’s out.
Sometimes you get men still in and not out.
When both sides have been in and out including the not-outs, that’s the end of the game.
Did you get that!!
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