16th September 2005

Ashes delight - but where is next Hussain coming from?

Delight at England's epic Ashes victory over Australia on Monday and during Tuesday's open-topped bus brouhaha involving both the men's and women's teams was obvious, but closer scrutiny of proceedings revealed just a single non-white face on board either bus, that of women's all-rounder Isa Guha.

Michael Vaughan's victorious XI parachuted in Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Strauss from South Africa and wicketkeeper Geraint Jones from Papua New Guinea, but was devoid of players from the UK's ethnic minorities.

"There is no question of race playing a part in the selection of the England team," said an ECB spokesman. "We have a good record in recent years, with players such as Devon Malcolm, Alex Tudor, Gladstone Small and, of course, Nasser Hussain, who went on to captain England. We have good integration of Asians in our one-day and age-group teams, as well as 30 to 35 playing in the first-class game."

Small, the former fast bowler who was part of Mike Gatting's Ashes-winning team in 1986-87 and now works for the Professional Cricketers' Association, is not so sure. He said: "It is true that the England XI was all-white and I hope that's so on merit, but it is important to ask the question."

Small, who played 17 Tests for England between 1986 and 92 and was named man of the match in the Ashes-clinching Melbourne Test in 1987, is particularly concerned about the absence of Afro-Caribbean cricketers in the English game.

"The kids of today had guys like Devon Malcolm as role models, but perhaps they want to be a Dwight Yorke [the Trinidadian former Manchester United footballer] these days," he said. "There is representation of around 50% of Asians in the youth set-up at Warwickshire and Essex, but much less in places such as Yorkshire.

"The fact is that, well though young Asians like Vikram Solanki and Kabir Ali are doing [the Worcestershire pair were in the one-day Nat West series side], they have not made the big breakthrough yet," said the 43-year-old.

"I expect to see players like Varun Chopra and Moeen Ali making it through from the under-19 squad and going all the way to the top."

While England's Test squad is an all-white affair, Scotland's set-up has won wide praise for its integration of ethnic minorities, with the team to play Warwickshire at the Citylets Grange on Sunday comprising three Scots-born Asians, as well as debutant West Indian fast bowler, Vasbert Drakes.

Roddy McNulty, Campaign Co-ordinator for the Show Racism the Red Card campaign, which focuses much of its attention on football, says cricket in Scotland is a "beacon of hope" for equality in Scottish sport. "Cricket Scotland has built on its role models and tapped into the sport's cultural connection with Scottish Asians, and there is much that football could learn from cricket," he said.

Asked if there was no longer any form of racism in Scottish cricket, McNulty said: "You can never be complacent, and I know of isolated instances of racial abuse in cricket, but integration seems to have a secure hold and is expanding."

Roddy Smith, chief executive of Cricket Scotland, says his organisation is pleased with the progress, and adds: "We would be delighted to share our experiences with our colleagues south of the border."

He added: "We have had great role models like Rahul Dravid, and Yasir Arafat, which has helped attract Asian kids into the game through the club structure."

"We now have players such as Majid Haq, Qazim Sheikh, Harmanjit Singh, Sean Weeraratna, Omer Hussain and Asad Mohammed in the Scottish Academy squad, with Kasim Farid skippering the under-19 team and Aman Bailwal the under-13s.

"It is all very positive. These guys are cricketers first, Scots second and the colour of their skin is absolutely nowhere."

One passionate supporter of Scottish cricket with a definite Asian flavour is Margo MacDonald, the veteran MSP, who is patron of the Edinburgh Cricket Club, which was formed out of the Muslim Association and recently promoted to the SNCL.

"They are fantastic, a real rainbow alliance, with Muslims, Christians and a Jewish player joining together through cricket, although I think they have done well to the chagrin of some of the traditionalists," says MacDonald. "They have set an example to all of us. When asked if they wanted to play for Scotland or Pakistan/India, to a man they said 'Scotland'."

At Lord's, though, whether any of the aspiring young Asians can break through to the Test team, only time will tell. Perhaps the ECB's biggest headache is reconnecting the Caribbean cultural connection to cricket.

Mike J Wilson

The Herald, 16 September, 2005