During colonial rule blacks had very little access to organized cricket (Newman, 2013). Their only participation was through manual labor such as bowling and retrieving balls during their master’s practice session. 
 
 British Colonizers brought cricket to the West Indies as an imperial sport that was mostly white-dominated. It became more than just a sport however. Although it was used as a means to reinforce a hegemonic cultural order in the face of emancipation, cricket soon became the means of anti-colonial resistance. 
 
 After the emancipation of slaves, cricket became a new cultural institution as England sought to reinforce hierarchies in its colonies. 
 By the end of the 19th century the mercantile class began dominating West Indian economic and cultural institutions. They began forming clubs throughout the West Indies which eventually led to the formation of Cricket boards notably the West Indies Cricket Board who led the West Indies Cricket Team. The board then joined the Imperial Cricket Council in 1926 and the "Windies" played their first International match (Test Match in 1928 (Cricketwestindies.org, 2017). It was not until the 1960s that West Indies made their Stamp in cricket. After this time some key events took place which showcased the use of cricket as tool to gain respect, recognition and equality for a people who were desperately trying to emancipate themselves from mental slavery that still engulfed their lives. 

 

Such events included the famous “GROVEL” term used by Tony Greig, the then Captain of the England team which fueled the West Indians to use cricket as their sword in the Battle against their former Masters.
The other events include the defeat of England on English soil for the first time in 1950 and the appointment of the first black captain of the West Indies Test team, Sir Frank Worrell.