Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University Communication Theses Department of Communication Fall 12-15-2010 The Game of Unity?: The 2007 Cricket World Cup as a Catalyst toward Caribbean Identity Construction Peta-Gaye J. Wiggan Georgia State University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/communication_theses Part of the Communication Commons Recommended Citation Wiggan, Peta-Gaye J., "The Game of Unity?: The 2007 Cricket World Cup as a Catalyst toward Caribbean Identity Construction." Thesis, Georgia State University, 2010. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/communication_theses/70 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Communication at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Communication Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. THE GAME OF UNITY?: THE 2007 CRICKET WORLD CUP AS A CATALYST TOWARD CARIBBEAN IDENTITY CONSTRUCTION by PETA-GAYE J. WIGGAN Under the Direction of Dr. Leonard Teel ABSTRACT It was paramount for the English-speaking Caribbean to host a successful 2007 Cricket World Cup and field an outstanding West Indian cricket team for the international sporting mega-event. For CARICOM and the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), there were two principle goals – first, to exhibit regional Caribbean identity, and second, to be triumphant under the leadership of the West Indian cricket team’s captain, Trinidadian Brian Lara. Identities are multifaceted and intricate, negotiated and renegotiated, based on a history of economic, political and cultural forces. This thesis interrogates Caribbean identity through textual analysis of the broadcast of the opening ceremony and regional newspaper coverage of the spectacle as well as ensuing events that were held in eight of the Caribbean countries from 11 March to 28 April 2007.