Shah Lays into Cricket and Middlesex in Particular

Lack of British Asians in professional game ‘staggering’.
Tim Wigmore.

London Daily Telegraph.

Tuesday, 16 June 2020.

PTG 3160-15637.

The lack of British Asians involved in the professional game has been attacked as “staggering” and “ridiculous” by Owais Shah, the former England international.  New figures, compiled by Thomas Fletcher from Leeds Beckett University highlight the lack of representation of British Asians in professional cricket in 2019.  A total of 21 out of 362 male players, or 5.8 per cent, were British Asian, 6.6 per cent of female players (7 out of 106), and 4.2 per cent of managers or coaches across the 18 men’s first-class county teams (5 out of 118).

The figures again show the contrast between the British Asian presence in recreational cricket - where those of South Asian origin account for one-third of players - and in the professional game.   Last week Vikram Solanki was appointed as the first ever British Asian head coach of a county. But, last season, there were only four other British Asian coaches in the county game, with just seven out of 118 black and ethnic minority coaches in total, according to Fletcher’s research.  Mo Bobat, who is of British Asian background, was named England’s performance director last year.

“The numbers are staggering, aren’t they? It’s bizarre isn’t it”, said former England player Owes Shah, who won 94 England caps and represented Middlesex and Essex. Shah won the Bangladesh Premier League as head coach of Rajshahi Royals in January but has not got any jobs in first-class cricket since retiring in 2015.

“I'm a lot more popular outside England”, Shah said. “I seem to get more gigs abroad than I do here. I really don't know why.  I've asked Middlesex loads of times to be involved in the Twenty20 setup, to see if I can offer something. I have played all the competitions in the world - I have Indian Premier League experience, I have Big Bash League experience”.

Shah said that the number of ethnic minority coaches in the top echelons of the English game suggested that it was often harder for them to get opportunities.  “It certainly does seem that way. So, I mean that's the thing - there's something that needs to be addressed. There should be some progression for all the coaches regardless of what colour you are. Why are they not getting their progression? Why are they not getting asked for a job at running a youth squad, or something like that? I don't know”.

Shah said that his former team should be doing far more to engage young players from ethnic minorities in Middlesex.  “They're not producing any Asian kids, or black kids. Why not? Why is that not happening? It should be addressed”.  Gulfraz Riaz, the chairman of the National Asian Cricket Council, echoed Shah’s concerns about the lack of British Asian players coming through the Middlesex system. 

“Middlesex is one of the richest counties in England, and if you go to county age group trials or practice the parents are coming in Range Rovers and Mercedes. So it isn't a financial issue. Where is the block? That's for Middlesex to answer and I know that certain powers that be are looking at that as that's completely unacceptable.  Maybe it is a case that they feel comfort in knowing that privately school educated boys make up large parts of the professional game and large parts of cricket at Middlesex”.

Richard Goatley, the chief executive of Middlesex, admitted that the county had failed to do enough in the past to engage the British Asian community.  "The numbers don’t lie - they’re not good enough. There are lots of players in the system but not enough coming through,” Goatley said. “We’re missing out on talent here - there's a hugely talent community that we haven't tapped into well enough.

In May 2018, the England and Wales Cricket Board launched the South Asian Action Plan to engage more effectively with South Asian communities at every level of the game (PTG 2447-12382, 10 May 2018).

'Cricket is not immune from systemic racism’: EWCB.

Cricinfo.

Saturday, 13 June 2020.

PTG 3157-15619.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (EWCB) says it is committed to delivering "meaningful and long-term change" to the way that cricket is run in England and Wales, after acknowledging that the sport is not immune to the "systemic racism" that "spans institutions and sectors across the country".

In a reflective statement, issued in response to the global wave of support for the Black Lives Matter movement, the EWCB acknowledged that "barriers to [cricket's] enjoyment exist for many communities", and recognised the depth of feeling that has been expressed by the sport's BAME (Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic) community, not least the former England opener Michael Carberry, who stated this week that "black people are not important to the structure of English cricket".

"We have listened carefully to those who have spoken out in recent weeks about their experiences of being black in cricket, sport and society”, said the EWCB. "We admire them for being vocal on this crucial topic. We know that systemic racism spans institutions and sectors across the country and we know that our sport is not immune”.

On Thursday, England player James Anderson leant his voice to the cause, stating that the current levels of inclusion from players of Afro-Caribbean heritage in English cricket are "just not okay". Anderson was commenting in response to a tweet from one journalist, who had established that there was a solitary UK-born, state-school-educated black cricketer playing regular first-team county cricket in 2019.

"We truly believe that cricket is a game for everyone but understand that sadly, barriers to its enjoyment exist for many communities”, continued the EWCB statement. "We have made progress in bringing cricket to more and more people around the country and it is our resolve to break down barriers and reform our structures everywhere across the game.  In recent weeks we have reflected, and acknowledge that black players and fans, who have contributed so much to the history of our game, now feel disenfranchised”.

"They do not feel as if cricket is a game for them. This must change.  That is why it's so important that we continue to listen to the voices of those who have spoken out, to educate ourselves and face uncomfortable truths in order to create action internally and throughout the game, to ensure long-term change.  We will now work to engage community leaders and black influencers within cricket so that we can review and evolve our existing inclusion and diversity work and specifically address the issues raised by the black community".

''From there, it is our overall desire to create demonstrable action, in order to deliver meaningful and long-term change that permeates every layer of the game”. The EWCB has made moves in recent years to improve the sport's mainstream diversity, with the launch in 2018 of the South Asian Action Plan, in a bid to reach out to communities that contribute at least 30 per cent of the active cricketers in the UK.

It also implemented a rules which stipulates that at least one candidate from a BAME background has to be interviewed for every coaching vacancy with the men's, women's and disabled national teams. On Friday, Vikram Solanki was appointed as Surrey's new head coach, the only person from a black, Asian or ethnic minority background in such a role among the 18 first-class counties.