Former England captain Andrew Strauss has urged cricketers to shun dressing room banter over racial harassment and bullying in a bid to keep away from controversies such because the Azeem Rafiq episode.
The Pakistan-born cricketer, who performed for county group Yorkshire for nearly a decade, instructed the UK’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) in November 2021 that racist feedback and actions by fellow cricketers had made him ” close to taking”. his personal life”.
With gamers of various nationalities and ethnicities now greater than ever having to share dressing rooms, cricketers should be extra ready, mentioned Strauss, the England and Wales Cricket Board’s (ECB) director of cricket, throughout his Marylebone Cricket Club Cowdrey Lecture at Lord’s on Wednesday. Will be protected in what they are saying and do.
“As we transfer ahead collectively as a sport with gamers of various genders, races, creeds and beliefs, so does the normal masculine, hierarchical, maybe at instances bullying dressing-room banter of softening to a tradition There might be a necessity for one that’s extra tolerant, understanding, welcoming and embracing distinction,” Strauss, one in every of England’s most profitable captains, was quoted as saying by Sky Sports.
Strauss additionally highlighted the significance of the spirit of cricket, saying that the occasions of the final 12 months and a half – when the Azeem Rafiq scandal broke out and tarnished the picture of England cricket – required so much to be finished to revive the sport’s picture. .
“Perhaps more importantly the spirit of cricket has to be with the modern players and I am talking mainly about the men’s game which is neither the prying eyes of the media nor the feverish applause of the fans ; dressing room,” Strauss mentioned.
The occasions of the final 18 months, whether or not in Yorkshire or elsewhere, have proven that now we have lots of work to do on this space, however the spirit of cricket calls for it. With England successful 9 out of 10 Tests underneath coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes, Strauss mentioned their coming collectively has caused an enormous tactical change in the best way the longest format is performed.
England’s Test victories towards India, New Zealand, South Africa and Pakistan final 12 months erased the frustration of successful simply one in every of their 17 matches earlier than the pair have been appointed.
“The coming together of Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes last May has shaken the game of Test cricket to its foundations and asked some fundamental questions about the centuries-old accepted truths of the Test format,” Strauss mentioned.
“Those two extraordinary leaders of men – assisted in no small part by Rob Key as Director of Cricket – have once again redefined what the game of cricket really is.” With a lot speak about Test cricket shedding its significance amid the onslaught of home T20 leagues world wide, Strauss indicated that the normal Ashes-like rivalry and recognition of the sequence between the foremost Test-playing nations won’t ever exit of vogue. Although some debt-laden nationwide governing our bodies could also be at a loss.
Strauss mentioned, “It is inevitable that some older institutions will crumble faster, including some debt-laden national governing bodies and professional clubs.”
“Also, the best way we see it immediately, bilateral cricket will be squeezed in a technique or one other. I firmly consider that the Test sequence that captured our imaginations immediately – which we’re actually trying ahead to – is just not going anyplace.
With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
