[I wrote:]
(a) One of the interesting things in "Crickonomics" [by Szymanski
and Wigmore] is the chapter on the influence of Afghans on German
cricket [which now seems to be booming, largely as a consequence].
i've not seen this book, but is the 'German' cricket team mainly made up
of afghans and other asian expats, or are they coaches?
My copy has passed on to other family members, but from memory
[always fallible] although, as John says, at the highest levels almost
all of the German players are immigrants, at club level the game has
become surprisingly popular among ethnic Germans. IIRC, there were
700 clubs and 500 grounds some time back and growing rapidly. You can
imagine Germans standing around looking at Afghan immigrants playing
cricket, "Was ist das?", and getting interested. These days, there is
oodles of money floating around for development, and I expect this will
increase with the 2028 Olympics.
[... Also, they have
an unfortunate "down" on public schools and amateurs.]
Yes without sounding like RH, most cricket in this country and indeed
the world, is played by amateurs.
Yes, but "Crickonomics" is particularly scathing about amateur
administrators [esp at county and MCC levels]. Basically, they seem to
be interested only in the money flowing around cricket. To some extent
this is fair enough, given the title of the book, but club cricket is
where the professionals first gain their skills and experience.
Also the current govt isnt keen on private schools, which as most of CC> cricketers seem to come from that background might be a worry. They have
to cope with the double whammy of the new VAT levy and employers NI
increase.
The book seems to think that cricketers coming from private
schools is already a worry! It's not just the UK; Oz, SA and Indian
cricket is also disproportionately from wealthy/private backgrounds.
--
Andy Walker, Nottingham.
Andy's music pages: www.cuboid.me.uk/andy/Music
Composer of the day: www.cuboid.me.uk/andy/Music/Composers/Ravel