Cricket in Argentina

Argentina is the strongest cricket country in South America except Guyana who are part of West Indies and Suriname who mostly field players from Guyana.

The first time cricket was practised in the country was during the British invasions of the Río de la Plata in 1806 and 1807. It is believed that the first cricket match was played in San Antonio de Areco by a group of British prisoners that had been caught by the criollos revolutionaries.

By 1831 Argentina was the country with the most number of British immigrants behind the Commonwealth nations. Most of them were traders or bankers who had developed their business in the Río de la Plata area. One of those businessmen was James Brittain, who owned a country house in the neighborhood of Barracas, where he organized cricket games. Brittain was also the founder of Banco de Buenos Aires, the first bank of Argentina, established during the presidency of Bernardino Rivadavia.

During one of the frequent matches at Brittain's country house, it was decided to form a club. On November 5, 1831, a cricket game was played in Recoleta, Buenos Aires, near the Nuestra Señora del Pilar church. During that game, a flag with the legend "Buenos Aires Cricket Club" was displayed. Some historians affirm that was the current Buenos Aires Cricket & Rugby Club, which would later set its foundation on 1864 although it is believed the club was established at least 30 years before.

The first president of the BACC was British consul Frank Parish, named in 1858. In April, 1868, BACC played its first club match facing Montevideo Cricket Club (MVCC) in the city of Montevideo. BACC won by 156-124. The rematch was played in Buenos Aires in 1869, where BACC defeated Montevideo again by 174-121. That same year a new club was formed, "Great Southern Railway Cricket Club", established by the English workers of Great Southern Railway. The club settled its field near to Barracas (current Avellaneda) railway station, moving in 1880 to Sola station. The president of GSRCC was Edward Banfield, who was also general manager of the railway company.

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Wikipedia