England’s aggressive approach in the revolutionary Bazball style of Test cricket has routinely faced scrutiny, but nothing like the controversy after the Jonny Bairstow runout on the final day of the second match in the ongoing Ashes series. It isn’t so much the boorishness of the crowd or the elite MCC members’ tiff with Usman Khawaja in the Long Room or even cricketer Stuart Broad’s hypocrisy that should occupy the attention of fans around the world. If the “gentlemen” of cricket had their way, they would happily go about displaying their “moral superiority” at every turn and continue behaving off the field as if the world hadn’t been kind to them.
No, what should really concern the cricketing fraternity is the deep-rooted classism that refuses to leave the shores of England. Nothing best explains this than former England captain Andrew Strauss’s comment regarding the vindictive atmosphere at Lord’s against the Aussies. “It’s Day Five and perhaps some people who don’t normally come to Lord’s are here today,” Strauss reportedly said.
Many ‘working class’ English fans on Twitter flayed Strauss for his comment, but the failure of the English media as well as their commentators to see anything wrong with it further establishes the claim that England cricket has a ‘class’ problem. The only solace is that, at long last, someone’s paying attention to it.
Privileging white, private educated
While it could be argued that English men’s cricket has ‘championed’ diversity with players such as Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid, and Jofra Archer in its setup, the hierarchical reality within the country’s cricket tells a completely different story altogether.
On 27 June, the Independent Commission for Equality in Cricket (ICEC) released a report titled ‘Holding up a Mirror to Cricket’, which highlighted inherent racism, classism, and misogyny within English cricket. A comprehensive survey conducted by the ICEC revealed that around 50 percent of the respondents, including players and coaches from counties and cricket clubs across England, had experienced some form of discrimination.
The report further shed light on the ‘elitism’ prevalent in the sport. The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), for instance, has been organising matches between elite institutions like Eton vs Harrow and Oxford vs Cambridge, perpetuating the exclusion of players from less privileged backgrounds.The ICEC recommended replacing these fixtures with national state school and university finals, providing opportunities for aspiring cricketers who may never have the privilege of playing in such prestigious settings.
The divide between privately educated and state-educated cricketers in England is alarming. Tow Brown, a high performance coach for Warwickshire cricket county revealed that between 2011 and 2022, 95 percent of the specialist batsmen debuting for England in Tests were white, with 77 percent of them being privately educated. Shockingly, white, privately educated professional cricketers are 13 times more likely to be selected for the England team compared to their white, state educated counterparts. This disparity increases to 34 times when compared with the chances of British Asian cricketers being selected. To put things into perspective, only around 7 percent of children in England attend private schools, highlighting the missed opportunities for talented cricketers from less privileged backgrounds.
A testimony to this fact was that the England team that took the field for the second Test in Ashes 2023 was 100% white and 73% privately educated. If not for Moeen Ali being called back from retirement just prior to the start of the Ashes, the entire English squad wouldn’t have had a single non-white player.
The ICEC report also emphasised the need for pay equity for women in cricket. It pointed out the stark contrast between MCC’s scheduling of elite fixtures without fail and the limited opportunities for the England women’s team to play at Lord’s. Since their victorious moment in the 2017 Women’s World Cup final against India, they have played only two international games at the prestigious venue, most recently a T20 against Australia on 8 July.
The ICEC report owes a lot to the revelations made by Karachi-born English cricketer Azeem Rafiq in August 2020, when in an interview to Wisden, he ended up talking about the racism he faced when playing for Yorkshire County Cricket Club. Rafiq’s time at the club was a direct encounter with racial slurs and discriminatory treatment, which he claimed were ignored by the administration for an extended period. Notable figures such as Gary Ballance, Tim Bresnan, and Michael Vaughan were accused. Following investigations, the ECB found six former English players and coaches guilty of using racial and/or discriminatory language, while Vaughan was cleared of racism charges based on the “balance of probabilities.”
Socio-political context
As cricket in England grapples with issues of classism and discrimination, it is essential to examine the socio-political context that has shaped and influenced the sport’s dynamics.
The shift from free-to-air cable channel to satellite television for cricket coverage in 2005 had significant consequences. Accessibility became a major concern as cricket became more inaccessible due to financial constraints and lack of interest in paying for satellite TV. This decline in accessibility had a detrimental effect on the next generation’s interest in the sport, with a survey of over 2,000 children in England revealing that three out of five children aged between 8 and 12 did not consider cricket among their top ten sports.
Cricket’s exclusivity also resulted in under-representation of black British players in the English setup. The number of black professional cricketers in the UK dropped by 75 percent between 1995 and 2020, and only two UK-born, state-educated black men played first-class cricket in England in 2019. Former English cricketer Ebony Rainford-Brent recognised the need for change and established the African-Caribbean Engagement (ACE) programme in 2020, offering opportunities for young cricketers. ACE has already made significant progress, working with 75 children in their London academy and establishing additional academies in Bristol and Birmingham.
Rainford-Brent found inspiration in the success story of Haringey Cricket College. Situated in a disadvantaged neighbourhood in Tottenham, Haringey thrived during the 1980s and ’90s. The success of Haringey Cricket College, which produced 25 first-class cricketers of African-Caribbean heritage, demonstrates the importance of creating pathways for players from disadvantaged communities. ACE drew inspiration from this model and aims to provide mentorship and representation to aspiring cricketers. By addressing the lack of diversity and representation, initiatives like ACE contribute to a more inclusive and equal future for cricket.
For the England men’s cricket team, though, it is the ECB’s job to ensure the road to sporting success isn’t lonely, built on the back of privileged, private-educated white cricketers.
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(Edited by Prashant)
One of the best article i have read on this issue. Save this writer and may be give him a raise!!!!