Two cultures of English cricket

Mike Marqusee, Islington North CLP

While football and rugby league authorities have embraced anti-racism and admitted that racism may be a problem in their respective games, the upper class louts who run cricket have, up till now, adopted a "hear no evil see no evil" approach. Now a new study from the Centre for Sport Development Research at Roehampton Institute has confirmed that cricket in England suffers a major racial divide.

Anyone for Cricket? Equal opportunities and changing cricket cultures in Essex and East London concludes that there are "two distinct but related cultures of cricket". One is mainly black and Asian, urban, and confined to council-maintained public pitches and "largely exists outside the official structures". The other is white, rural, and endowed with well-kept private facilities and "exists largely as part of the official structure". The report repeatedly stresses that, in practice, these two cultures "are not equal".

Black and Asian cricketers, despite their formidable hunger for the game, simply do not enjoy the same facilities, access to leagues, and opportunities to compete as their white counterparts. What's more, they find their way of playing cricket -- overtly competitive, sometimes highly vocal -- frowned upon by white players and officials. "Most black and Asian players argued that the mainstream leagues hide behind league regulations and cultural stereotypes of black and Asian cricket, to prevent the admission of black and Asian clubs into the official leagues." As a result, "many young people are being lost to the game".

The report concludes: "Whilst the culture of English cricket may not be explicitly racist, it can lead to a culture of racial exclusion, racial stereotyping and to a lesser extent racial abuse of black and Asian cricket players." The researchers also interviewed 62 eight to eleven-year-olds from six east London schools -- girls and boys, white, black and Asian -- and found their perceptions of the game largely free of stereotypes. Most children rejected the Tebbit test and took a relaxed attitude towards national affiliation. Many believed "one's choice of cricket team was independent of one's ethnic background or indeed original nationality." All were asked whether they agreed with the statement, "cricket's an Asian game, football's a white game and basketball's a black game". Hearteningly, every single interviewee disagreed. Many dismissed the formula as "racist". "While making strong ethnic identifications with cricket and cricketers themselves, the students nevertheless expressed clearly the opinion that cricket was a sport for all." Significantly, "there was no association made between cricket and its English origins and only three students stated that the sport was invented in England."

For more information, contact Ian McDonald, CSDR, Roehampton Institute, London, SW15 3SN.

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