No 35, Nov 12 - The Grumbler's County Cricket Newsletter
News and comment on the Yorkshire racism scandal | All the latest player moves | New captains at Sussex & Middlesex | Somerset's streaming award | Wasim Akram in full flow for Lancs | Dearly departed
Given this is a county cricket newsletter, one sad, sorry, disgraceful saga must dominate its contents this time. I have been longing to see the domestic game become headline news again but not like this. I have tried to list the key stories of the Yorkshire racism scandal over the past two weeks and I have added my take underneath. The dam has broken and some of the key figures have already resigned. Azeem Rafiq will get his day in front of the DCMS select committee soon. My biggest fear is that this sweeping of the decks will make everyone believe the issue is solved and sorted. Cricket's issue with inclusion and diversity does not start and end with Rafiq, as awful as this episode may be. It takes countless small changes in attitude and appreciation over many, many years. You can’t just clean a house and leave it there. I don't know about you but I have to vacuum mine every single week because, if I let it slide, then the dirt becomes ingrained once more.
Yorkshire CCC racism scandal
Mark Arthur resigns as Yorkshire chief executive in wake of racism scandal (Cricinfo)
Martyn Moxon signed off with stress, Andrew Gale suspended as Yorkshire crisis escalates (Cricinfo)
Michael Vaughan stood down by BBC following racism allegation (Mirror)
Azeem Rafiq: Government to 'step in' if Yorkshire and ECB do not take 'real action' (BBC Sport)
Sajid Javid says ‘heads should roll’ over Yorkshire cricket racism claims (Guardian)
When it comes to racism in cricket, the ECB is the accused not the judge (Guardian)
As the Hives once sang, "Hate to say I told you so" but I have been writing it for weeks. There was no end-game to the position Yorkshire took on this issue. A strategy of 'cling on, lawyer up and hope it goes away' was clearly never going to work after Rafiq turned down a reported six-figure compensation sum at the start of the process. His stoicism and the tenacity of a few key journalists have kept up the pressure. Yorkshire were never going to move and neither were the ECB without that. In an interview last year, CEO Tom Harrison said he wanted to be held to account on the issue of race but only broke cover in the Rafiq case when the politicians waded in and the sponsors bailed out. Then, when questioned on the affair, he was happy to dodge the issue by saying he had not read the key report. On Monday, with the issue still unresolved, he flew out to Pakistan to try and clear up another ECB balls up. Let's be clear, this situation is down to Yorkshire but, yet again, English cricket’s governing body has wholly failed in its custodianship of the game. As Barney Ronay's excellent piece points out the 25-year long punt on an ECB based around media rights and the England team has not worked. Look where the game was then and where it is now. It is led by marketers who know the price of everything and the value of nothing yet strut about like preening peacocks in expensive suits talking of a cricket family but, in truth, only care about protecting the ‘chosens sons’ of television, sponsors and star players. Entirely on their watch, the game has slipped away from the public consciousness. If it continues this way, it will follow speedway's fasttrack to obsolescience inside a generation. Even Savid Javid, a member of the most cynical government in modern British history, can see it. Last week, he said "the ECB is not fit for purpose". Let's be honest, Harrison has been talking and acting like a politician for years. That’s when he actually speaks up and leads of course. But, unfortunately, unlike real MPs, we can't vote him out.
Simon Heffer is not really my cup of tea, too old-fashioned and reactionary. However he does have a long-term perspective on the ethics of the game and so, quite understandably, no prisoners are taken here.
"Lord Patel, the new chairman, is a man of accomplishment and sense, and must have free rein to turn this ship round. He must not mince his words with the ECB, who seem to have been as pitiful and pathetic in this nasty business as they have been in so much else: and he must ensure all outstanding claims are investigated thoroughly and fairly as swiftly as possible, with wrongdoing punished and the righteous acquitted. The genuine spirit of cricket demands no less."
Finally on this issue, here are two sensible commentators chewing it over. Worth listening to.
News, views, interviews
5.5m views recorded on Somerset live streaming service (Somerset CCC)
Special new development at the CAGG (Somerset CCC)
Wonderful news from Somerset whose streaming service recorded 5.5m views last season. That's more than double the previous year. In addition, they won a broadcast award for their YouTube channel despite being up against some big 'traditional' channels. Then they snatched some off-season attention with an engaging tale about building a house for the resident cat at the County Ground in Taunton.
The driving force behind much of this is Ben Warren. I interviewed him a couple of years ago for my podcast. Take a listen here.
All this digital and social media development is increasingly valuable as Somerset now have the largest online audience of any sports club in the south west of England. This is a huge selling point to any potential sponsor.
As a side note, I have consulted with one county on content strategy and would love, love, love to assist the whole of county cricket in this way. Not under this ECB regime though.
Tim Murtagh: Seamer named Middlesex club captain and signs new deal (BBC Sport)
Middlesex: Mark Ramprakash returns to Lord's as batting coach (BBC Sport)
Travis Head to captain Sussex red-ball side for 2022 (Cricinfo)
Tom Haines appointed one-day captain (Sussex CCC)
Middlesex and Sussex were battling it out in the depths of Division Three last season below many lesser-resourced clubs. With some county squads starting pre-season training this week it was no surprise to see both teams lay down foundation stones for the next campaign.
George Dobell to join The Cricketer staff across print and digital (Cricketer)
Ex-England and Northants cricketer Allan Lamb speaks of cancer diagnosis (BBC)
This rather stopped me in my tracks. Partly because Allan Lamb was a fine cricketer and partly because I need to get checked up myself. Who says these sorts of appeals are pointless?
Signings, contracts, departures
Signings: Drissell (Durham), McManus (Hampshire), Van Meekeren (Gloucestershire), Pettman (Nottinghamshire), Pepper (Essex), Kimber (Leicestershire), Ahmed (Leicestershire), Brathwaite (Warwickshire), Beer (Sussex)
Departures: Moulton, Burrows, Shah (Lancashire), Nel (Essex)
Also:
Michael Yardy: Sussex appoint former captain as academy director
Graham Wagg signs for Shropshire
James Pattinson to Notts and may play as an "Englishman"
Dearly departed
Peter Butler (affiliated to Essex)
Tweet of the Week 1
Let’s interrupt this newsletter for a game of county cricket
In his prime at Lancashire, Wasim Akram was devastating. Here he is running through Leicestershire at Grace Road in 1993. Not sure about the lbw against Winston Benjamin though.
Links I like…
Join the Cricket Supporters Association, it’s free
County Cricket Matters - Buy the magazine direct or on Kindle
Tweet of the Week 2
OK, so this is one of mine and it is not county cricket. But we have to applaud REAL sportsmanship, i.e. when it can be costly to team performance. Personally, I hate the all-pervasive idea that you have to be an overtly competitive numbskull devoid of ethics to be a successful athlete.
Finally…
This mini-documentary on Warwickshire’s title-winning day is almost an hour long. It deserves more than 3,000 views. This is the sort of content that county fans say they want. Well, get watching then.
Finally, finally…
Yes, I am still plugging my book on county cricket and midlife.
Buy through Amazon or through me for an autographed copy
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