CRICKET IS IN THE PAST

FOOTBALL obviously has a societal issue with racism but, as a player, broadcaster and now as senior football strategist at Southend, I have never felt that in the right environment there wouldn’t be an opportunity for me somewhere in the game.

Don’t get me wrong, I was called, ‘C**n’, ‘N **** r’, ‘H***-c***e’, you name it, when I played.

But I always knew that, because of the barriers that had been broken down over the years by Arthur Wharton then Cyrille Regis and Brendon Batson, the merit of my ability meant doors would open for me within the game.

That clearly isn’t the case in cricket and, listening to Azeem Rafiq’s experiences at Yorkshire, I’m hearing of things being said that died out in football dressing rooms 40 years ago.