Spartan Cricket Club
Encyclopedia
Spartan Cricket Club is a cricket club in Barbados
. The club plays in the Barbados Cricket Association
Division 1 championship.
Spartan was formed in 1893 as a club for middle-class black and creole cricketers who were denied entry into all-white cricket clubs such as Wanderers
and Pickwick
. The inaugural president of the club was Sir William Conrad Reeves
, Chief Justice of Barbados and other members consisted mostly of "lawyers, medical practitioners, elite schoolmasters, higher level civil servants and the few non-whites to have penetrated the managerial levels of the business, commercial and plantation worlds." The club played its matches at the Belleville ground in Saint Michael and the first captain of the club was George Learmond
.
Cricket in Barbados at the time was strictly divided by colour and class. Spartan was seen as a middle-class club and in its early years efforts to admit working-class cricketers met with some resistance. In 1899, the club was divided about the admission of Fitz Hinds
—a talented cricketer who had previously worked as a groundsman at Pickwick Cricket Club. After his admission, many of his team-mates refused to play with him. The club was split again in 1913 when Herman Griffith
attempted to join the club. Considered "too poor to enter", he was denied admission. This attitude distressed a significant minority of the club who split and established a club for working-class blacks, Empire Cricket Club
in 1914. Spartan and Empire developed a strong rivalry.
Before and after Barbadian independence, members of Spartan Cricket Club were influential members of Barbadian society, including Grantley Adams, the first Premier of Barbados. It is claimed that Spartan has "produced more[ West Indies] Test cricket
ers than any other [club] in the Caribbean". The club now plays its games at Queen's Park in Bridgetown
.
Notable cricketers from Spartan include:
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
. The club plays in the Barbados Cricket Association
Barbados Cricket Association
The Barbados Cricket Association is the ruling body for cricket in Barbados. The BCA was sstablished in 1933 by an Act of Parliament to replace the Barbados Cricket Challenge Cup Committee, which had administered Barbadian cricket since its formation in 1892...
Division 1 championship.
Spartan was formed in 1893 as a club for middle-class black and creole cricketers who were denied entry into all-white cricket clubs such as Wanderers
Wanderers Cricket Club
Wanderers Cricket Club is a Barbadian cricket club. The club plays in the Barbados Cricket Association Upper Intermediate Division, having been relegated from Division 1 in 2010....
and Pickwick
Pickwick Cricket Club
Pickwick Cricket Club is a Barbados cricket club. The club was founded on 23 November 1882, the second oldest cricket club in Barbados after Wanderers Cricket Club...
. The inaugural president of the club was Sir William Conrad Reeves
William Conrad Reeves
Sir William Conrad Reeves, born in Saint Joseph, Barbados in 1821 was an important nineteenth century lawyer, academic and legal figure on the island of Barbados. He represented Saint Joseph in the Barbados Barbados House of Assembly in Bridgetown and was appointed Solicitor-General of Barbados in...
, Chief Justice of Barbados and other members consisted mostly of "lawyers, medical practitioners, elite schoolmasters, higher level civil servants and the few non-whites to have penetrated the managerial levels of the business, commercial and plantation worlds." The club played its matches at the Belleville ground in Saint Michael and the first captain of the club was George Learmond
George Learmond (cricketer)
George Cyril Learmond was a West Indian cricketer who toured with the both the first two touring sides to England in 1900 and 1906....
.
Cricket in Barbados at the time was strictly divided by colour and class. Spartan was seen as a middle-class club and in its early years efforts to admit working-class cricketers met with some resistance. In 1899, the club was divided about the admission of Fitz Hinds
Fitz Hinds
Delmont Cameron St Clair Hinds was a coloured West Indian cricketer who toured with the first West Indian touring side to England in 1900...
—a talented cricketer who had previously worked as a groundsman at Pickwick Cricket Club. After his admission, many of his team-mates refused to play with him. The club was split again in 1913 when Herman Griffith
Herman Griffith
Herman Clarence Griffith was a West Indian cricketer who played in West Indies' first Test match in their inaugural Test tour of England and was one of the leading bowlers on that tour....
attempted to join the club. Considered "too poor to enter", he was denied admission. This attitude distressed a significant minority of the club who split and established a club for working-class blacks, Empire Cricket Club
Empire Cricket Club
Empire Cricket Club is a cricket club in Barbados. The club plays in Barbados Cricket Association Division 1 championship. The club was formed on 24 May 1914—Empire Day—from which it took its name. The club was formed by disaffected members of Spartan Cricket Club...
in 1914. Spartan and Empire developed a strong rivalry.
Before and after Barbadian independence, members of Spartan Cricket Club were influential members of Barbadian society, including Grantley Adams, the first Premier of Barbados. It is claimed that Spartan has "produced more
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
ers than any other [club] in the Caribbean". The club now plays its games at Queen's Park in Bridgetown
Bridgetown
The city of Bridgetown , metropolitan pop 96,578 , is the capital and largest city of the nation of Barbados. Formerly, the Town of Saint Michael, the Greater Bridgetown area is located within the parish of Saint Michael...
.
Notable cricketers from Spartan include:
- Sir Clyde WalcottClyde WalcottSir Clyde Leopold Walcott, KA, GCM was a West Indian cricketer. Walcott was a member of the "three W's", the other two being Everton Weekes and Frank Worrell: all were very successful batsmen from Barbados, born within a short distance of each other in Bridgetown, Barbados in a period of 18...
. - Wes HallWes HallWesley Winfield Hall is a Barbadian former cricketer and politician. A tall, strong and powerfully built man, Hall was a genuine fast bowler and despite his very long run up, he was renowned for his ability to bowl long spells. Hall played 48 Test matches for the West Indies from 1958 to 1969...
. - Sulieman BennSulieman BennSulieman Jamaal Benn is a West Indian cricketer who plays international cricket for the West Indies and first-class cricket for Barbados....
.