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Test Match

What you will find an imbalance of is captains that are batsmen rather than bowlers. Historically there is a strong argument that could be rooted in discrimination where the gentlemen were often batters and the players bowlers.

In modern times it is often seen as being based about the captain as a batsmen is better placed to take a step back in the field and concentrate on the strategy and game management whereas the bowler can be more invested in the immediacy of his own performance which may act as a distraction.
 
Not accurate really. Since Botham the following test captains are from state funded school backgrounds - Fletcher, Gatting, Gooch, Stewart, Lamb, Vaughan, Trecothick, Flintoff and Root.

Definitely from a private background are Gower, Cowdrey (Chris), Cook, Pietersen and Butcher. The latter of those is mixed race and wouldn't appear to have been discriminated against through snobbery or worse.

Possibly having a private education are Willis, Embury and Atherton.

Off all those on the lists, I would say that only Gower, Cowdrey and Cook fit the bill for an archetypal stuffy MCC stereotype and with the exception of the short lived Cowdrey, you can see why they deservedly got the gig.

It would appear that so far as appointing the England test captain goes, the snobbery pretty much went out with the old notion of gentlemen and players; in other words long before our day.

Surely Strauss as well? He just looks public school let's be honest haha. I know Hussain has an Indian background but I think he was also pretty well off and went to an independent school.

While it's possibly not a direct barrier to being a captain, often looking at the England cricket team and there are only maybe two or three of the eleven from state school backgrounds which doesn't seem extremely representative?
 
Strauss probably our most successful captain in the last 20 years went to Radley.
That school Vaughan and Root went in Sheffield isn't private, good wasn't sure.
Good Lord, how could I have forgotten Straussy! I didn't include solid rugby league lad Stokes, and I also overlooked Hussain. Again as has been pointed out is privately educated but also not discriminated against on grounds of race.
 
Surely Strauss as well? He just looks public school let's be honest haha. I know Hussain has an Indian background but I think he was also pretty well off and went to an independent school.

While it's possibly not a direct barrier to being a captain, often looking at the England cricket team and there are only maybe two or three of the eleven from state school backgrounds which doesn't seem extremely representative?
I would say personally it's more varied than that, but without spending a ridiculous amount of time to do the research I'm not going to over argue the point you make:grinning:
 
I went to a comprehensive that had been a grammar school so our school had two cricket pitches, not sure how many other schools in the city have a cricket pitch? LSST? When we schools cricket we played the grammar schools at louth, Gainsborough, Grantham Sleaford etc.
 
Definitely from a private background are Gower, Cowdrey (Chris), Cook, Pietersen and Butcher. The latter of those is mixed race and wouldn't appear to have been discriminated against through snobbery or worse.

Possibly having a private education are Willis, Embury and Atherton.

Off all those on the lists, I would say that only Gower, Cowdrey and Cook fit the bill for an archetypal stuffy MCC stereotype and with the exception of the short lived Cowdrey, you can see why they deservedly got the gig.

Don't forget Cowdrey's dad - even more so!

Michael Atherton went to Manchester Grammar School.

Geoff Boycott went to both a Secondary Modern and a Grammar School.

Ray Illingworth also went to a Secondary Modern school.

Brian Close went to a Grammar school.

Seems to be a pattern emerging! But Tony Lewis also went to a Grammar School
 
Azeem Rafiq: Report by Yorkshire finds former player was "victim of racial harassment and bullying"
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/58514665

Yorkshire do seem to be out of step with most of the other counties. As I've mentioned before, the set ups at the likes of Lancs and Middlesex invest heavily in inclusive community programs, in addition to benefitting from tapping into a large potential pool of young talent from a diverse pool.

For some reason Yorkshire always seem to be stubbornly living on a different time line to everybody else and that's their problem. They will have to learn the hard way via bad publicity, payouts and missing out on potential players.

Whether change had already been instigated whilst the Rafiq saga rumbled on, I know not but more fool them if they don't.
 
It appears that the Indian players refused to play, IPL related 100%
They're meant to back year next cancel it.
IPL is clearly more important sod them!
 
It appears that the Indian players refused to play, IPL related 100%
They're meant to back year next cancel it.
IPL is clearly more important sod them!

Not according to Tom Harrison, the Chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board . He says the cancellation had nothing to do with the IPL .

So where did you hear that the Indians refused to play ??
 
Not according to Tom Harrison, the Chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board . He says the cancellation had nothing to do with the IPL .

So where did you hear that the Indians refused to play ??
It's what Sky Sports are saying, albeit not providing any details.
 
Not according to Tom Harrison, the Chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board . He says the cancellation had nothing to do with the IPL .

So where did you hear that the Indians refused to play ??

True or not the fact that that accusation will wind Kohli right up is quite amusing.
 
It appears that the Indian players refused to play, IPL related 100%
They're meant to back year next cancel it.
IPL is clearly more important sod them!
Good luck with trying to fit a one off test into the calendar. I think floating the suggestion is more of a PR exercise.

I eventually got tickets for day 4 i.e. affordable, because some friends really wanted to go to a test match. I will incur none of the horrendous costs that people travelling and staying over will, including one of my friends who is not local.

Never say never, but I won't be rushing to watch India again. I'm not saying that there are not legitimate concerns on the part of the Indians but breaching the Covid bubble didn't help, and a bit of me suspects that if the IPL wasn't imminent they would have found a way to get it on.
 
Good luck with trying to fit a one off test into the calendar. I think floating the suggestion is more of a PR exercise.

I eventually got tickets for day 4 i.e. affordable, because some friends really wanted to go to a test match. I will incur none of the horrendous costs that people travelling and staying over will, including one of my friends who is not local.

Never say never, but I won't be rushing to watch India again. I'm not saying that there are not legitimate concerns on the part of the Indians but breaching the Covid bubble didn't help, and a bit of me suspects that if the IPL wasn't imminent they would have found a way to get it on.
IPL starts in 10 days, just long enough for the quarantine...
The IPL is the cash cow and basically takes precedent.
It stinks IMHO, the Indians have been mumbling about the timing of the final and it's closeness to the IPL resuming.
This would have been played if the IPL wasn't starting in 10 days time.