Edited from the April edition of The Trumpit.
For almost five decades I’ve spent my summers playing cricket at my local club. Typical of so many, we have a long history albeit largely of anonymity. Cricket has rich roots in Yorkshire and the Bradford League was recognised as one of the best in the country; the defunct Bradford Central League was also a regular production line of talent.
Locally, cricket may look healthy but the stark reality is there is an ever decreasing pool of players. The game has shrunk markedly and keeping clubs alive has become a grind. Most competitive sport has vanished from state schools; it is estimated that less than 1% of 11-18-year-olds play cricket. Whatever conclusions you reach here, sustainability given this evidence alone, looks impossible.
I coach too but the poor physical standards of kids make this an uphill task; most struggle with basic hand-eye co-ordination. Of the nine key movement skills at primary age – running, throwing, kicking, striking, catching, balance, coordination, agility and jumping – uniquely cricket teaches all bar kicking, though I have seen many a stump kicked over. It offers a great deal yet remains almost invisible to the 93% of kids at state schools.
The blame lies largely with the sport’s governing body, the English Cricket Board (ECB), although there are wider societal issues. At the peak of the game’s recent popularity, they sold out to Sky. In 2005 England beat Australia to regain the Ashes after 18 humbling years, watched by millions, the last year of cricket on free to air television. The ECB argue the money has been vital and that Sky was the only broadcaster willing to pay but they have presided over too long a period of decline. This is especially so as, even back then, cricket was in decline.
Other sports also sold to Sky, such as football and the two rugby codes, have kept some terrestrial exposure. Whilst the new Sky deal (2020-24) will bring in over £1bn with some cricket on the BBC, it feels too little, too late. In fairness, cricket is far from alone with regard to falling participation levels; even football is struggling. The Bradford Sunday Alliance Football League has more than halved in the last decade. Rugby clubs will tell of times they could put out several teams; now most struggle to maintain two.
We have become a sedentary population despite the claims made by those who sold us the 2012 Olympic Games as a game changer for active lifestyles. Of course, people do engage in other ways these days, witness the growth of park runs, but the age of mass participation sports looks in terminal decline.
Locally cricket is farcically organised with clubs from the Bradford district participating in at least six different leagues, a consequence of better times. The ECB could use some of Sky’s millions to encourage a reorganisation into a proper structure although the howls of protest from diehards would be deafening. But those who resist change surely cannot deny the overwhelming evidence that the game is contracting?
It could also consider a new approach to state schools. At the moment the only “coaching” is through the charity Chance to Shine (C2S). Having experienced this my impression was C2S seemed more interested in compiling data on demographics. They claim “C2S has reached more than four million children in over 14,000 state schools.” So where are they? Out of over 150 primary schools in Bradford, very few are listed on C2S’s interactive map. We need coaches to work with those clubs that can engage schools in effective partnerships, sharing quality facilities and best practice.
At club level the game imitates the professional game, dominated by money, with clubs paying mediocre players to simply put teams out. Cash-laden benefactors with egos to match their ignorance of the game, stump up for players who need a sat-nav to find home grounds. Reorganising the leagues would not only benefit travel times but the very best players would be able to find a true “semi-professional” level. Sadly, most leagues are incapable of change, not least due to the lack of people willing to administrate but also because few have the capacity for the bigger picture; those that try soon realise the futility.
Consider too cricket’s offering as a game in a changing world? Recreation time is highly prized and yet we still persist with formats which were fine when the Beatles were top of the charts. The game is too long for modern lifestyles yet administrators fail to get this. Even if schools took up cricket again, it will take a decade to replenish stocks of local players so clubs will have to make some hard choices.
To survive in the short term, some will continue to pay out small fortunes, with scarce funding diverted from tired facilities to players who will leave for the price of a pint. Those with junior structures know what we produce for all the slog is pitiful; from the dozens we child-mind in the early years, come teenage kicks and the drop-off is alarming.
So less customers and too many operators and the choices should be obvious. Leagues and clubs will merge, it is the only short-term solution and the longer term is even more challenging. Volunteers, the bedrock of most clubs, are also vanishing fast so who will replace them? In truth, change of the type required will be a bridge too far for most. The writing is writ large on the wall.
Footnote
There is a creeping problem with junior cricket in that there are clubs with bountiful numbers set against many simply just managing to quote Mother Theresa. Those clubs lucky to have excessive numbers can never truly develop those kids but, my oh my, what a lovely cash cow!
There are also coaches that will have you believe your lad is the next Joe Root as long as you keep coughing up for the sessions and the new kit each year. The Spirit of Cricket seems lost somewhere.
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