Brazil’s Cricket Revolution: Tracing the Sport’s Path
Cricket’s roots in Brazil can be traced back to the 19th century when British immigrants brought the sport to the country. Initially, cricket struggled to gain popularity, as football dominated the sporting landscape.
Early Stage
Midway through the 1800s, when a sizable section of Rio de Janeiro’s population was English or belonged to Britain, cricket was first played in Brazil. The British CC, Artisan Amateurs CC, Rio British CC, Anglo-Brazilian CC, and the British and American Club were among the cricket clubs in operation by the early 1860s.
The year 1860 also saw Brazil’s first official cricket ground being built, which was indeed historic for the country. Even after the stadium was built, cricket did not become very popular in Brazil, as it was only in 2003 that Brazil became a member of the International Cricket Council (ICC).
The Sao Paulo Athletic Club (SPAC), which still serves as the nation’s cricket hub, was where the sport, however, really took off. The Brazil Cricket Association (BCA) was established in 1922, and R.A. Brooking served as its founding president.
Rio Cricket, Pernambuco Athletic Club, Santos Athletic Club, Sao Paulo Athletic Club, and Paysandu Cricket Club were the member clubs. The national Associação Brasileira de Cricket (ABC) was established in 2001 to keep up with this resurgence of cricket activity in Brazil, and in 2003, Brazil joined the ICC as an Affiliate Member.
Domestic Cricket in Brazil
Nine teams participate in the Brazil national league for the Commonwealth Ambassador’s Trophy. The teams are Candangos, Brazil, and Pakistan Plus from the state of Distrito Federal; Sao Paulo Indians, SPAC, and Sao Paulo from the state of Sao Paulo; and Swadisht, Gralha Azul, and Parana from the state of Paraná.
Five championships have been won by Sao Paulo to date, compared to Brasilia’s two and Paraná’s one. From March through October, teams compete in bouts of 40 players. Each of the three provincial representative teams competes in a Twenty20 event in November. The three significant towns host this tournament alternately each year.
Brazil’s National Cricket Team
Brazil’s national cricket team has made strides on the international stage, participating in tournaments such as the South American Cricket Championship and the World Cricket League. The team’s commendable performances against established cricketing nations demonstrate the potential and talent present in Brazilian cricket.
There is also a Brazilian national cricket team that plays matches following the guidelines of the ICC. The squad is as follows:
- Rashid Bazigar
- Daniel Miziara
- Greigor Caisley
- Viki Chaudhry
- Rudy Hartmann
- Ian Webster
- Vincent Bastick
- Guilherme Lefevre
- Henrique Dolabella
- Sunny Randolph
- Alexandre Miziara
- Christopher Johnson
- Amit Rohilla
- Lalit Rohilla
- Himanshu Shokeen
- Piyush Daksh
- Devender Thepra
- Ankit Solanki
Women’s Cricket in Brazil
Women’s cricket has slowly increased in popularity in Brazil since the University of Brasilia’s PE cricket program became a success. Three games were played in Curitiba in 2007 against an Argentina XI. Later, the Brazil squad returned to Buenos Aires for a series in late January 2009. Brazil only managed to win one game, but both series were fiercely contested.
The ICC Americas Women’s Championship was held in Miami in May 2009 as a result of the women’s team’s development being noticed in Buenos Aires. The South American Women’s Cricket Championships were ultimately won by the Brazil Women’s National Cricket Team in 2015 in Santiago, Chile, marking the first time in Brazilian Women’s Cricket.