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When one thinks of Costa Rica, one automatically thinks soccer--futbol, as it is in Spanish. But two sports are making a modest comeback here, one historic, the other of which has sputtered along through the years like a wet candle.

Cricket was up and coming in the late 1800s, showing the influence of the British empire and the Jamaican presence in the building of the railroad from the Caribbean port of Limon to the capital. But the sport died out during the Second World War when Costa Rica was an ally of the United States. Baseball then struggled to gain a foothold.

This June, Costa Rica played in its first first cricket tourney in many decades, winning only one match of four in Mexico City but managing to carry away Most Valuable Player award won by local batsman Ben Smith. Granted, from time to time cricket matches have been played here, often on the Queen's birthday, usually under the auspices of the British Embassy.

Certainly, none of the country's participation has been on the level of the International Cricket Council's sanctioned play in Mexico City. Costa Rica's win came against the Falkland Islands, its losses to Mexico which won all its matches. (Cuba was scheduled to play but dropped out at the last moment, reported The Tico Times, the region's top English-language paper.

The Tico team was a conglomerate of English, Indian, a New Zealander, an Aussie and three native Ticos from Limon. This participation is spearheaded by Richard Illingworth, president of the Costa Rican Cricket Federation, who has been attempting to raise the sport from its doldrums.

Certainly, cricket is healthier than it has been for decades and is taught at ICC-funded camps in Limon and at Roblealto camp for about 100 children in Heredia, while matches are played in various parts of the Central Valley. (More information may be obtained through This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )

Baseball is alive and well as a minor sport, unreported in local papers and appearing to be enjoying a low-key renaissance, thanks to Nicaraguan immigrants of recent years. Weekend games are played in several places in the Central Valley.

During the 1970s the sport was played with support of U.S. expatriates such as Tico Times publisher Dick Dyer. But it never caught on with the rabid local soccer fans who favor the constant motion of soccer over the more measured pace of baseball and cricket. Costa Rica is one of the few nations bordering the Caribbean Sea that has not had even a single minor league star on the U.S. baseball scene.