Local clubs need support to help cricket thrive
ONE of the simple pleasures during the Covid summer was to watch international cricket on TV. Unlike the recent series in South Africa the bubble concept worked, the upshot being that we were able to see the stars from Pakistan, West Indies and Australia take on England.
And a bonus for those of us without a satellite dish was the chance to watch a few matches freeto-air.
Hopefully next season will be back to as near normal as possible, and that I’ll have the opportunity to attend a first-class match in person, something that wasn’t possible this year.
Sadly, it seems that the majority of players newly qualified for England were either educated at public school, or in a different country altogether. For state school cricket just isn’t what it was.
I remember playing for Great Coates Middle School against what was virtually a second-eleven side from Nunsthorpe.
They had the best team in their age group, helped by their inspirational teacher John Cooper. He was the star bowler for Grimsby Teachers, my dad’s side. Funnily enough John Wilde from my school sometimes played for them as well.
So why aren’t there so many cricketers from ordinary backgrounds as there used to be? Well Thatcher’s selling off of school playing fields didn’t help, nor did the excessive concentration on the academic curriculum. Cricket takes up both time and space, it being so much easier to get schoolchildren playing football instead. What’s more the sheer cost of equipment must be a barrier when you haven’t got the money from school fees to play with. Another factor will be the emphasis on health and safety – it just wouldn’t be on to expose youngsters to facing an erratic fast bowler on a dodgy wicket, especially without wearing a helmet.
To me, though, much is lost by reducing the opportunities for future cricketers to make the grade. Thus if schools are otherwise occupied, the steps taken by local cricket clubs must be given our support if our national summer sport is to thrive once more.