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Paper short abstract:

In Sri Lanka, cricket is seen to be reconciliatory. From an ethnographic study of cricket in Colombo, this paper describes the relationship between space, movement and social relations. It explores the ongoing tension between sport's inclusive capacity and its reproductions of social inequalities.

Paper long abstract:

This paper is an ethnographic account of sociality within a cricket club in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Cricket is a prominent feature of the physical and cultural landscape in central Colombo, and has been identified as a potential tool for reconciliation. This paper responds to the broader call to critically assess the impact of sport in development and peace contexts (SDP). Ethnographic engagement with cricketing spaces reveals underlying organising metaphors for social relations, identity and change. The framing of the cricket ground as a neutral, liminal space enables new identities to be constructed, brought into proximity and tested, while ideas about movement suggest that with purpose and direction positive social change can be effected. When combined with a sporting ideology of equality and meritocracy, these local logics illustrate the reasoning behind claims cricket can be a unifier in post-conflict life. Yet, analysis of the social relations fostered during cricket suggest that deep seated notions of hierarchy remain integral to cricketing sociality, and a tense interplay between notions of equality, meritocracy and hierarchy has to be negotiated at training and matches. While cricket's reconciliatory capacity is logical by Sri Lankan standards, problems remain in practice. This work therefore contributes to the critical assessment of the tension between sport's inclusive capacity and its reproductions of social inequalities. Notwithstanding, cricket remains one of the few arenas where meritocracy is legitimately found in Sri Lanka, so I suggest that while the ideological reductionism of sport may be a weakness, it may also be a strength.