ECB unveils Action Plan aimed to revolutionise cricket for British Asians

By Sarwar Alam

ECB action plan designed to widen south Asian appeal

A NEW initiative by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) aims to increase the game’s appeal among south Asians and “transform” the game in the community, with the project’s head, Lord Pa­tel of Bradford, describing it as a “once-in-a-gen­eration opportunity”.

Research by the ECB – conducted over two years – studied the nature of the Asian community’s link with the gentleman’s game.

British Asians constitute 30 per cent of recrea­tional players in the UK, yet only four per cent of professional players are from a south Asian back­ground, the ECB survey showed.

It also found that lack of access to resources hampered participation and only three per cent of ticket sales for England games were from Asian communities. But this increased dramatically during last year’s Champion’s Trophy in England, where 40 per cent of tickets were bought by British Asians. Teams from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh were in the semi-final, resulting in the spike in sales.

“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity,” Lord Patel said at the Action Plan’s launch at the Leyton County Ground Sport Centre in east London last Thursday (10). “The stars have aligned.

“We had a Champions Trophy last year, which ex­cited loads of the south Asian community. This year, we’ve got the biggies, India and Pakistan, then we tour Sri Lanka. Next year we’ve got the World Cup.”

The South Asian Communities Action Plan features 11 specific recommendations in its 106-page report launched last week. It includes the creation of more than 20 new Urban Cricket Centres; the development of over 1,000 non-turf pitches and 100 turf pitches by 2024; backing more Asian coaches; launching Com­munity Talent Champions to scout talent; the award of bursaries to young south Asian players; and the delivery of 6,000 Chance to Shine coaching sessions to schools in deprived neighbourhoods by 2019.

Lord Patel said: “This action plan will make sure that cricket is for everyone, and that our sport is re­flective of modern communities across the country. We know that working closely with key partners will play a vital part in making this a success.”

“The passion that south Asian communities in the UK have for cricket remains high but there is still so much untapped potential. This plan will help to change that – starting today.

“As a British Asian who grew up playing cricket in the streets and on the pitches of Bradford in the 1960s, I have first-hand experience of the enormous benefits of our sport. Cricket gave me the confidence, connec­tions and opportunities to meet new people outside my community, as well as develop life-long friendships.

“Now if we can’t make things happen in this envi­ronment, we’ll never make it happen. We’ve got leadership of the ECB who want to make it happen, we’ve got leadership in counties that want to make it happen, and the government are saying we need kids out and about, healthy and fit.”

Lord Patel accompanied Matt Hancock, the secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport, on a three-day trip to India to further shine the spotlight on the Ac­tion Plan. The pair took part in a game with school kids at the JCBN School, Parel, Mumbai, on Monday (14).

Hancock said: “Cricketing ties between England and India are historic. One of the things we are doing in England is trying to make sure we get more people who come from a south Asian diaspora, and are Brit­ish, into the English cricket system and ultimately play for England. We think there’s a lot of untapped talent that we want to reach.”

The South Asian Action Plan project team, led by ECB head of strategy Vikram Banerjee, analysed tens of thousands of survey responses and hundreds of thousands of database records to understand the south Asian community’s views on cricket.

A South Asian Advisory Group was also put to­gether by ECB chief strategy officer David Mahoney. The group includes experienced individuals from within and outside the game such as Leicestershire CEO Wasim Khan, former England cricketer and Sky Sports pundit Isa Guha, ex-Hampshire captain and cricket presenter Mark Nicholas, British Asian Trust chairman Manoj Badale, vice-chairman and former CEO of WorldPay Ron Kalifa, among many others.

The plan began as a collaboration with University College, London (UCL) to produce an interactive “heat map” of all south Asians living and playing cricket in England and Wales on a street-by-street basis. Their research found that the single-biggest barrier to south Asian participation in cricket in Brit­ain was a lack of access to facilities in urban areas.

Other challenges identified included the lack of scouting in urban areas, the cost of travel and equip­ment for county age group cricketers, a lack of female coaches, access to cricket at school, and a lack of cul­tural considerations within the match day experience.

England star Moeen Ali acknowledged he could relate to the issues, saying: “Growing up in inner-city Birmingham, I fully understand some of the chal­lenges and barriers for young south Asian cricketers and I see many of those challenges now when I help my dad coach at his cricket academy.

“Many parents are still struggling to afford kit for their kids and the new bursaries will give emerging players the opportunity to continue to improve and develop in the game.

“In the next six months, England’s men play against Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka, and as well as hoping to play my part on the pitch I’m looking for­ward to seeing a new generation of players, fans and coaches coming into the game.”

ECB CEO Tom Harrison admitted that this re­search was much-needed, saying: “While we have long acknowledged the passion for the game in south Asian communities in the UK and had the best intentions, we have never fully understood how to engage with South Asian communities. This report gives us a roadmap to change that.

“We now have a much deeper understanding of how cricket can play a part in multi-faith, multi-lin­gual, multi-cultural communities, whether that’s creating a match-day experience which respects eve­ryone’s customs, renovating derelict council buildings into cricket centres in urban areas or putting the game’s talent scouts into more diverse communities.

“Ultimately, we want more people picking up a bat and ball, the best talent getting opportunities to play at the highest level and attendances which match the UK’s passion for cricket.

“While this Action Plan is about south Asian com­munities, in developing it we have learnt a great deal about how to reach other communities too. Cricket has a wonderful opportunity to grow and become a sport truly diverse and representative of its broad fanbase.”

Armed with the data and insight, the ECB worked with Sport England to identify 10 “Core Cities” where the majority (61 per cent) of the south Asian popula­tion lives – Birmingham, Bradford, Kirklees, Leeds, Leicester, London, Luton, Manchester, Sandwell and Slough. These 10 areas will be the focus of the first two years of the project.

Following this, the plan will expand to engage with a further 300 districts that make up the remain­ing 39 per cent of the South Asian diaspora. There is also the intention to train and develop 200 female coaches from all backgrounds and award bursaries to talented young South Asian players.

Essex prospect Feroze Khushi believes the ECB’s new South Asian Action Plan will help propel plenty more British Asian youngsters into professional cricket. The 19-year-old batsman, who was born in east London to parents of Pakistani origin, lists world stars such as Virat Kohli and Shahid Afridi as his cricketing idols while growing up.

But one of the key aims of the ECB initiative, focusing on south Asian communities in the UK, is for Khushi and other homegrown players to themselves be­come the visible role models for aspiring youngsters.

Khushi, who earned his first professional contract with Essex last year, was in attendance at last Thurs­day’s launch. He said: “It’s definitely a work in pro­gress and I’m confident in the near future there will be a lot more Asian players and coaches coming through.

“I used to love watching people like Kohli and Af­ridi – guys from an Asian background with great tech­nique – and I learned a lot from watching them. One day I hope I can help inspire young Asian players from different areas in England to come and play cricket. To see so many Asian kids here today is fantastic.

“I’m so happy to see that and I think that the strat­egies being put in place will get more Asian players making it at professional and maybe even interna­tional level, which would be great.”

Another rising British Asian star is Surrey spinner Amar Virdi, who has been touted for England selec­tion. He reiterated that having south Asian role mod­els was a key reason for his success.

“Growing up watching Monty Panesar, a turban-wearing Sikh like myself, play for England was huge for me. And now I want to be a role model for the next generation.’

Virdi admitted that there were still cultural issues which prevented British Asian children from forging professional careers in the game, but hoped this Ac­tion Plan would help overcome these barriers.

“It’s true a lot of Asian parents still want their kids to be doctors, lawyers, teachers etc. I was lucky my father played cricket and the whole family was really supportive. Hopefully now with this initiative more parents will be able to see the benefits of cricket.”

One of the key points the ECB will implement is the introduction of the “Rooney Rule” when making appointments for all coaching roles in the men’s, women’s and disabled teams, including the England head coach and assistant coach roles. Currently only five per cent of coaches within the English game are of south Asian heritage.

Introduced by the NFL in 2003, and named after its diversity committee chairman Dan Rooney, the “Rooney Rule” requires at least one member of the BAME community to be interviewed for a coaching position. In addition, 10 south Asian coaches will be given mentoring and work placements in the next two years.

Former Essex player Arfan Akram, who is the cricket co-ordinator at the University of East Lon­don, is confident that change is on the horizon.

Akram said: “For me, the single most exciting part of this is the British Asian community feel as though they’ve now got a voice in cricket. There are so many diverse faiths and cultures within the community. But there’s a platform now for people to listen and adapt.

“For example, we run a session for girls at Red­bridge Sports Centre. It’s about finding a venue which is accessible and has the requirement of being enclosed with no windows so parents are happy that their girls are in a safe environment. That comes from understanding their culture and beliefs.

“The south Asian community are hugely driven when it comes to education, but sport can stop at a certain age because education – for all the right rea­sons – takes priority.

“Now we have a beautiful opportunity to show­case a real balance and say cricket complements your education – it can give you transferable skills when it comes to looking for a job, like teamwork.

“The core points fit into the wider ECB strategy – which is about growing the game and bringing tal­ented athletes into the system.”