W ith the West Indies as hosts, the Cricket World Cup, which culminates today in Barbados, was always going to offer a contrast to the traditional image of the game. Cricket- watch ing Caribbean style is about as far removed as can be imagined from the spectacle of MCC members crammed into Lord’s, wearing “scrambled eggs and smoked salmon”-striped ties, baking in blazers, and watching players in white flannels chase a red leather ball across a plush green outfield. Rather, for today’s final, most spectators are likely to opt for beach and carnival wear.
The way cricket looks is changing. The first big shift in the style of the game came in 1979 with Australlian billionaire Kerry Packer’s decision to televise matches with players wearing pastel outffits rather than crickets “whites”. And, for more than a decade now, one-day games of the sort played at the World Cup have seen players wearing “pyjamas” in such vivid national colours as green and gold for Australia, black for New Zealand, and light blue for India. And with their taste for replica gear, the style of the fans in the stands has kept pace with that of the players.
Indeed, since the last World Cup in 2003, Nike, Slazenger and Adidas have signed multi-million-dollar deals to provide kits for India, Pakistan and Australia, respectively, bringing further innovations in colour and fabric to the professional and armchair scene.
The grandstands also feature a variety of “vintage” cricket looks. These include retro kits such as that of the 1992 World Cup, featuring England’s red, white and blue strip.
Meanwhile, the Barmy Army – originally a travelling band of English cricket supporters – has been organised into a brand to market its own clothing lines. “The white polo shirt, listing dates and locations, that we produce for every tour and World Cup is considered a classic,” says Paul Burnham, the brand’s founder, who is seeking investors to fund expansion. Barmy Army derived its initial popularity from many cricket spectators’ desire to distance themselves from football fans and their sometimes rowdy and violent behaviour. “Before we came on the scene people, especially when they were following England abroad, might have worn their football teams’ strip,” Burnham recalls. “We wanted to be different.” Plenty of fans, he adds, also began to want something other than the nylon fabric used for football shirts then, especially fans in warm climates.
The fashion ante was upped further by the recent arrival of 20/20 cricket – 20 overs a team, under floodlights with players’ favourite rock and pop songs accompanying them over the public address system as they walk to the batting crease – according to Mark Whitehead, founder of the internet outlet World Cricket Store. (Strangely to non-devotees, cricket is the world’s most web-centric sport –www.cricinfo.com is more visited than sites on other statistically rich sports like baseball, basketball and American football.)
“Cricket is much more laid-back thanks to 20/20,” says Whitehead, who set up World Cricket Store 10 years ago and has outlets in Britain, Australia and India. “The game is also showcased more extensively than ever by satellite broadcasters, and icons like England’s Andrew Flintoff and India’s Sachin Tendulkar have broadened appeal.”
Worldwide, demand for cricket fashion wear has grown during the build-up to the start of the 2007 World Cup last month. By mid-February, the website World Cricket Store was taking daily orders for up to 300 shirts (having previously sold an England top to Tony Blair’s son, Ewan). “Man for man, more supporters wear their country’s one-day kit in South Africa than anywhere else,” Burnham adds. “Tops are also popular in the West Indies, and in India and Pakistan those who can afford official gear (costing up to £40) wear that, while others buy copies.” World Cricket Store has even shipped a West Indies official World Cup top to New York.
There remain those who favour more traditional cricket-going men’s wear. Michael Booth, chairman of the Jermyn Street shirtmakers Hilditch & Key and a regular at Lord’s, notes a popularity among his cricketwatching customers for lighter shades-, often in sea island cotton with a silk-like appearance. Ties, including traditional cricket colours, are usually bright to reflect the game’s summer calendar.
Jeremy Hackett, who founded the Hackett clothing range and, from his south-London home, notes trends among crowds heading for the nearby Oval cricket ground, claims that many of his British clients who play as well as watch the game favour a white cable sweater with red and blue V-neck that evokes the Union Jack. Also popular are flannel shirts with long sleeves harking back to the 1950s, when a bowler might run to the wicket with cuffs flapping.
What formal cricket-wear lacks, however, is some sense of a personal connection with the game and players, says Barmy Army’s Burnham. He believes the success of his merchandise, much of which commemorates particular tours and on-field success, reflects the fact that spectators want to feel they’re more than just benign observers (no matter that, in England’s case, performance on the field during the World Cup hardly encouraged association).
“It’s for those who want to be able to say this summer and beyond: ‘I was there,’ ” he says, “like people who attend pop concerts.” When it comes to clothes, therefore, Wembley arena and a cricket stadium in the West Indies may be closer than you think.
Fashion pitch
www.worldcricketstore.com
www.barmyarmy.com
www.hilditchandkey.co.uk
www.nike.com
www.slazenger.com
www.adidas.com
www.hackett.com