in 1916, before his father imposed a ban on competitive cricket, constantine had played briefly for shannon cricket club; he returned to the club in 1920. initially, he appeared in the second team, but after scoring 50 runs in an hour during his third game, was promoted to the first eleven. cricket in trinidad at the time was divided along racial lines; shannon was mainly for black lower middle-class players such as teachers or clerks. the club was competitive and highly motivated, partly as a reaction to the racial discrimination that its players and supporters encountered in their daily lives. constantine's cricket thrived in this atmosphere, and the club helped to form some of his political views. he particularly noticed that in trinidadian and west indian cricket, white and light-skinned players were often favoured over black players of greater ability.