Samons

Samoa’s lively version of cricket turns Jefferson Park into ‘a little piece of home’

It could almost be the British countryside, with dozens of people engaged in a sport that looks a lot like cricket. But there’s a distinctly Polynesian flair to the proceedings.

The players are dressed in colorful wraparounds, not prim British whites. Food booths offer boiled green bananas, Spam sushi and poi drinks. Pounding music blasts from speakers while an emcee narrates the action with the fervor of a World Cup telecaster.

Welcome to kirikiti, Samoa’s version of England’s quintessential sport.