Grassroots cricket in England is being run out of town
Jim White in the Telegraph tells the story of council-run cricket facilities in decline says it's no surprise the England team is made up almost entirely of South Africans and public schoolboys.
Sahil Dutta
25-Feb-2013
Jim White in the Telegraph tells the story of council-run cricket facilities in decline says it's no surprise the England team is made up almost entirely of South Africans and public schoolboys.
In the past two decades, council-run cricket facilities have disappeared faster than Jonathan Trott's hair. With no statutory obligation to provide leisure activities, the wonderful stock of pitches built up over the generations has disappeared. Health and safety, compensation culture: any excuse is seized by councils to absolve themselves of the business of preparing surfaces. And the cuts have provided the perfect fig leaf to complete the process. As with free tertiary education, vibrant local libraries and rural bus services, one of our greatest sporting achievements – the widespread provision of municipal pitches – is disappearing before our eyes.
Sahil Dutta is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo