I notice that now the shit hits the fan with the racism at Yorkshire county cricket, Wales are being referenced quite a lot on the news today it's no longer England it's England and Wales or ECB for short. surely it's time for our own board.
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I notice that now the shit hits the fan with the racism at Yorkshire county cricket, Wales are being referenced quite a lot on the news today it's no longer England it's England and Wales or ECB for short. surely it's time for our own board.
Seeing as Glamorgan has 2 allegations of racism put its way in 2005 and 2012, i think its fair to look at the entire cricketing landscape as a whole.
https://www.skysports.com/cricket/ne...sm-allegations
As mentioned today, cricket is not like football and counties cannot survive without ECB support. So to walk away from that would be catastrophic for cricket in Wales.
I like Cricket, but mainly in a "few beers in the sun at Sophia Gardens" kinda way. Generally speaking, is the British Asian community well represented in county / t20 matches and at coaching levels etc?
I really don't know, and I know it's not relevant to this case, I just wondered.
Is the British Asian community represented well in any mainstream British Sport. Rugby/Football/Cricket. I would say no.
What i would argue is you see more British Asians playing top class Cricket in the UK than you do the other sports.
In the local area and leagues you have decent Asian participation, and some Asian focused teams. What Rafiq said today is that the problem is not in the grassroots, and with opportunities to play, because these exist. Rafiq stated the problem is in the dressing room, with particular emphasis on the professional environment.
I can’t remember exact figures, but it’s something like 30 per cent of club cricketers in the UK are of Asian descent and that figure drops to 3 per cent when it comes to first class cricket. As for coaches, I would be surprised if there were no Asian descent coaches in the county game, but I’m not aware of any.
Probably shows my ignorance (maybe not the right phrase to use in the circumstances) but I was really surprised to see Kieran Carlson referred to as a British/Asian cricketer in that link.
Watched Azeem Rafiq’s testimony to the Parliamentary Committee today and he was very impressive.
I don't know (or care much) about a Wales Cricket Board. Plenty seem happy about the invisible and silent 'Wales' small print in the England & Wales Cricket Board letterhead. Along with the 3 lions, GSTQ, the cross of St George, 'Engerlund' chants, 'the ECB' and all the rest.
But I do agree with your point about the media suddenly remembering the "Wales' bit when there is bad news to report.
It was always a bit of a joke that Andy Murray was British when winning, but Scottish when losing - but it was true.
wonder why he returned to the county
Gary Ballance seems a nice chap.
You wonder if football the alleged bad boy of sport has a better disciplines in dealing with racism within the club structures and its controlling bodies unlike Cricket which is very much like a closed shop by County??
I am shocked at these reports , as many good Asian and black cricketers have seen success in the British game.
Don’t think we’ll be seeing David ‘Bumble’ Lloyd on Sky Sports Cricket again.
I was quite sceptical of this at the start, as judging by his twitter Rafiq himself seems like quite a knob. A lot of deleted tweets that are verging on personal threats. He was also a bloody awful player, but one who was very highly regarded by Yorkshire and given chance after chance.
Seeing some of what has come out has changed my outlook a lot mind. If even half of these things are true then there is a problem within cricket.
I would be very interested if the drug test allegation is repeated outside of parliamentary privilege. I just don't understand how it would be possible to hush it up for a bloke who was around the England side. If that does turn out to be true, then Yorkshire cricket club will be facing a whole world of pain and quite rightly so. If it turns out to be malicious then Rafiqs other testimony will need to be looked at aswell.
Interestingly, just read his cricinfo stats and profile. He was the ineligible player that meant Yorkshire lost their t20 quarter finals place in 2008. If I remember rightly it was Glamorgan who benefited from that decision.
There's a really good piece by Andy Bull today which has some horrific examples of what he endured.
These really are hard to read - here's an extract:
'What was it Steve Brine MP said on Tuesday, the moment after Azeem Rafiq had just finished speaking about how he didn’t want his own son to go anywhere near cricket? “In conclusion then, by how many will we win the Ashes?” Thanks for getting back to what’s important, Steve, Rafiq’s testimony really needed the light relief.
Which part got you hardest? The moment a teammate pinned him down and forced him to drink red wine while everyone else stayed silent? The one when the beloved old fast bowler called him “Raffa the Kaffir” and “elephant washer”? The bit where a venerated England captain bluntly contradicted his testimony, supported by two of Rafiq’s teammates, that he told him “there’s too many of you lot”? Or was it when he argued that the reason his teammates can’t recall racist behaviour at Yorkshire was because it was so normal that it became forgettable? Or when he said he felt the players’ union called the police on him just so they would have proof they’d tried to do something useful if he killed himself?
That horror you’re feeling, the chill, the nausea, the hurt, all that unease and discomfort, don’t turn away from it. It’s necessary. Without it, nothing will change.'
The whole thing sickens me.
Horrible racist bullying culture.
At least Hoggard and Lloyd have apologised bu those comments. I mean seriously WTF!!
Ballance I really wish that tw@t had shared a dressing room with Curtly Ambrose.
Makes you wonder with Ollie Robinsons historic tweets how widespread this was. Was he in a culture where it was just considered normal.
I love cricket but this just makes me consider turning my back on it.
2005 one of the greatest series. Dont want to watch any more replays or highlights.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/59338118
More banter , Azeem Rafiq has apologised and said he is "deeply ashamed" for using anti-Semitic language in messages from 2011.
The 30-year-old said he had "absolutely no excuses" for the messages.
"I am incredibly angry at myself and apologise to the Jewish community,"*he said in a statement. ( should imagine others are angry and also regret thier poor comments )
"I have absolutely no excuses. I am ashamed of this exchange," he said.
"I was 19 at the time and hope and believe I am a different person today."
Banter ,racism ,stupidity??