Historically, sport has not been an important subject in the fine arts. The only exceptions to this rule have been the elite sports of horse racing, shooting and hunting of all forms.

Even then, these works were rarely accorded the same status as 'serious' art, such as works with religious or historical subject matter, and were considered 'genre' works. However, during the 20th century, the range of suitable artistic subjects changed dramatically: new audiences brought new tastes and the old hierarchies collapsed.

Starting with the impressionists, who championed the 'painting of modern life' as the most important mission of the artist, visual arts have delved ever deeper into the worlds around them. It is natural that artists would turn to sport as a subject. Like dance and theatre, it is physical, elemental, dramatic, ritualistic and often beautiful. It also touches the souls of peoples all over the world.

Contemporary images

With the advent of photography, film and mass media, our sporting stars - and the sports they play - have become iconic images of contemporary life. National identity and national pride are intimately bound up with the games we play and watch. In fact, sport has never before had the global prominence that it enjoys today.

For its part, Jamaica has achieved success in sport out of all proportion and size and, as part of the West Indies cricket team, has enjoyed considerable success against the other cricket-playing countries. Barrington Watson, a Jamaican artist famous for his draughtsmanship and love of the human form, has turned his passion for sport into an artistic form.

Game for life

Cricket is more than a sport - it is a game which teaches all the essential lessons of life.

For Jamaicans, it is even more so: it was one of the critical elements which provided the basis on which the fledgling nation moved from colonialism to national independence.

Cricket has been Jamaica's national sport for more than 100 years, and it has been chronicled in millions of words. Younger readers, however, will not remember the days before 1962 when it was the only organised game known to the over 1,000 communities scattered across our 11,000 square kilometres of land.

First, we must note that the modern form of organised cricket started in Europe in the late 19th century when the concept of sport (and cricket in particular) was seen by the British as an essential part of the education process.

Growth industry

Among other attributes, it prepared men for war, taught them loyalty, not to complain in the face of adversity, and to remember that misfortune on day one does not preclude victory on day five.

More recently, sports in general were regarded as trifling entertainment and a means of harmlessly dissipating the energies of youth.

Sport has now become one of the world's major growth industries; and cricket is now played at the test level on a non-stop, year-round basis. In addition, serious cricket is no longer only an affair of several days, but has attracted millions of new fans by spectacles of 50-overs-a-side and 20-overs-a-side, in a format marked as 'ODIs' (one-day internationals).

Good cricketers are now so well paid that the Indian master, Sachjn Tendulkar, is among the wealthiest men in India. Most serious Test cricketers are millionaires.

Excluding excellent cricketers

Among the tasks undertaken by the second edition of the book, City of Kingston Souvenir, is the selection of an all-time Jamaican 11.

The list excludes many excellent cricketers. Among them: R. Karl Nunes, the first captain, opening batsman and also wicketkeeper (1928) of a West Indies cricket team; J.K. Holt Sr, the first renowned Jamaican batsman, whose career spanned the first three decades of the 20th century; J.K. Holt Jr, his son, who became vice-captain of the West Indies team and who scored 172 against British Guiana in 1947; hard-hitting, high-scoring batsmen like Ken Richards, Neville Bonitto, Ken 'Bam Bam' Weekes and Easton Morris, who scored a record eight centuries in regional first-class cricket (1959-70).

Even the most classical of wicketkeepers, Jackie Hendriks, the West Indies captain/wicketkeeper/batsman Franz Alexander, and the demon fast bowler Roy Gilchrist cannot be included.

The conclusion of this and other interesting perspectives on Cricket, Lovely Cricket can be found in Jamaica Journal volume 30, number 3. Abstract from the articles include: