CRICKET IS A GAME FOR ALL COLOURS, CREEDS AND CLASSES... I’M TRYING TO HELP

DoEs county cricket favour the privileged classes? as someone from a state school, it’s a question i have often asked. in a sense it does, because most of its players come from private schools. They are the ones with great facilities. most state ones don’t have any. and it’s why i got involved with the London schools Cricket association two years ago — to provide youngsters of all backgrounds with an equal chance. monte Lynch, my fellow head coach, and i believe there has been a lot of talent from different communities that simply hasn’t been given an opportunity. To us, everyone has a right to try to play cricket. if it wasn’t for Ellis Williams, my games teacher at Willesden High, making sure i played the game, i don’t think i would’ve had the life in sport i have. What he did for me, i am trying to do for kids now. This summer we had around 800 kids at trials, with a healthy number of asian cricketers, but not as many as i had anticipated from the black community. When i first started playing county cricket, and for England soon afterwards, in the Eighties there were a lot of black cricketers. The million-dollar question is why the numbers have gone down so drastically. Back then, the West indies were a powerful cricket side. You admired them. They inspired you. i wanted to be like them, really. in more recent years, have there been fewer role models for black children? Personally, i always felt it was hard for me as a state schoolboy moving into a system like county cricket. i was always trying to prove myself. obstacles were in my way. Was there racism? Yes, absolutely. But i didn’t feel i could cry out through fear of being called a troublemaker. i experienced some horrendous things and the support wasn’t there. i went through them on my own. Things were said and done that destroyed me, but i never felt secure enough to share them. That is what has made me so passionate about this. To make things better. i try not to look at the negatives because i’ve dealt with my life experiences in my own way. What concerns me most, though, is that things i went through 30-odd years ago might be happening in 2020. i hope that’s not the case because, from what i have seen through the terrific support they have given to the schools programme, the ECB want to improve things — i can’t fault them at all. They know there’s been a problem and they’re trying to rectify it. i don’t care what colour you are, where you are from, private school, state school. i just want to give you the opportunity to play cricket. That’s what i am really passionate about. i want to get away from that private club mentality. it should be a game for all, where everyone gets a fair go. if you don’t treat people properly, they will walk away.