Lewis Hamilton recently observed that Formula One lacked any diversity and that nothing had really changed in his 11 years in the sport. Chapeau to him for making the point, though what good it will do remains to be seen.
So I began to wonder just how diverse cricket is. Superficially, you might ask why on earth I am posing that question? Cricket after all is played all around the world by nearly every creed and colour. Certainly, my experience of the game is that people are welcomed to clubs and teams for their willingness and ability to play the game regardless of the colour of their skin or their religion, as it should be. If some clubs are more white or more Asian, it is invariably the consequence of the catchment area and nothing more sinister.
But attend a Test match or a one day international in England and what do we find? If England are playing India or Pakistan, invariably the UK citizens of Indian and Pakistani descent will turn out to support the visiting side as it affords an opportunity to support the country of their forebears. Until the West Indies’ star wained in the cricketing firmament, it used to be the same with the Afro Caribbean population.
But go to Lords when Australia or South Africa or New Zealand are in town and what do we find? Observe the serried ranks of MCC members, so obviously male and public school for the most part, and you struggle to spot a coloured face. Look around you in the stands and at best, all you will find is a smattering of non white faces. Observe the boxes of blue chip companies, City solicitors etc. Not too many non-white faces there…
Just how many people with ethnic backgrounds occupy senior administrative roles in the the ECB or the MCC? How many chairman or committeemen of First Class Counties or, for that matter, Minor Counties are from ethnic backgrounds? The answer is very few, if any. First Class four day cricket spectating seems to be the preserve of white OAPs, as is Minor Counties cricket.
Given the number of Asian players in the game and how plentiful they are in county and national age group sides from U11 to U19, it is surprising that only Moeen Ali is regularly playing for England. In terms of players of Afro Caribbean origin, it would appear these days that you have a better chance of playing for England if you are plucked out of, say, Barbados, come to the UK and play cricket on a public school scholarship and then join a county. Just what is being done to attract kids from the Afro Caribbean community in the UK into cricket these days? If you evaluate that question by a review of the what the last decade has produced, the answer is: Not very much. Given the prowess of Afro Caribbean youngsters in every other sporting field, it simply cannot be the case that there are none good enough.
So on closer inspection, diversity and inclusively soon dries up in cricket in this country and the old order changeth but little. Will the President of the MCC or the England Captain ever be black or Asian?
One of Giles Clarke’s more preposterous yet revealing remarks, even for him, was that Alastair Cook was ‘a very good role model and he and his family are very much the sort of people we want the England captain and his family to be’ sums it up. Cricket is still a game run by and for the benefit of the “right sort of people”. In other words, a world where diversity plays little part. Just like football. Stacks of quality black players and virtually none in senior management, coaching and administration.
Ironically, the ECB are hoping and praying that when they roll out their shiny new T20 competition, the Asian community will change the habits of a lifetime turn out in droves. Whether that happens remains to be seen but if it does not happen, the powers that be will only have themselves to blame.
SW
Sticky Wicket 