Ha! Comparisons like this have been going on since #Bradman and his 1948 ‘Invincibles’ (at least).

But the likes of #Cardus and Altham would never ever have suggested upsetting the elitist status quo - which was, and remains, #cricket in England’s central problem. 🤷🏻‍♂️🙃🏏 #ICEC

And, they’re planning to bulk up the ranks of #ICEC agents further, offering fat signing bonuses paid for by American taxpayers.

Did somebody say ‘tax strike’?

a man wearing a hat and sunglasses is pointing his finger at the camera . ALT: a man wearing a hat and sunglasses is pointing his finger at the camera .

The #Ashes defeat is not a failure of #Bazball, but the culture of English #cricket that led to it.

As #ICEC briefly achieved, the conversation as to why we in the UK are increasingly uncompetitive (and unimaginative) needs to be widened:

angrysoutherneroopnorth.blogspot.com/2025/12/beyo...

Elitist Britain 2019 - The Sutton Trust Analysis of the educational backgrounds of 5,000 of Britain's leading people.

The #Ashes defeat is not simply a failure of the structure of English #cricket. But an example of how British institutions are run by, and in the interests of, the privately educated.

I think (as #ICEC achieved briefly) the conversation needs to be widened:

www.suttontrust.com/our-research...

Fast and furious “Nonsense”, was Lord Botham’s crisp response to the report in 2023 of the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC). He seemed to take particular exception to the finding, backed up by consi...

Congratulations to Michael on his book and getting a fab review from David Kynaston, who was also good enough to reference @rafnicholson.bsky.social and I, in The TLS.
#cricket #race #class #gender #ICEC

www.the-tls.com/culture/spor...

The ECB wants to build 40 new domes — but will this be enough? A couple of weeks ago, Richard Thompson, chairman of the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB), was interviewed by Dan Roan of the BBC at the opening of the country’s second all-weather cricket “dome” in Darwen, Lancashire. With the (understandable) focus at the time on playing schedules in the County game and player workloads, the main story from the interview was how players were “exhausted” by an “unrelenting” schedule.

The ECB wants to build 40 new “domes” — but is this really enough?
Does “making the game more inclusive” need mire than pitching new “tents” in fields?
#cricket #ICEC

Sod #TheAshes. Two years since the #ICEC and what has the #ECB put almost all its energy behind … ?

The (further) privatisation of a game that doesn’t belong to them.

#cricket #class #race #gender

‘Face of Grace,’ From Spain’s Anna Martí Domingo and Laura Santos Martí, Spotlights Societal Pressures on Women As one of the five Films to Come at this year’s Incubator program of the Madrid Film School (ECAM), “Face of Grace” (“Cara de santa”) features a host of women behind the camera. It will be co-helmed by Anna Martí Domingo and Laura Santos Martí and produced by Mayca Sanz of Allegra Films and Laura […]

Should #Wales become independent? How about #Catalonia, #Flanders, #SouthTyrol, #Scotland, #Sicily, or the #Basque Country? I spoke to leaders from @yes.cymru and six other independence movements at the #ICEC conference in Cardiff in July.

youtu.be/8Rcg5bdcw8w

@yesbreizh.bsky.social en direct de #ICEC #Cardiff
YesBreizh war-eeun eus ICEC #Kerdiz
YesBreizh yn fyw o ICEC #Caerdydd
YesBreizh live from ICEC Cardiff

@yes.cymru @yesscotland.bsky.social #YesBreizh

✅ @yesbreizh.bsky.social #Cardiff pour Conférence Internationale #ICEC, à l'invitation de notre partenaire gallois @yes.cymru
Diolch yn fawr iawn 🙏
Une belle occasion de rencontres celtiques et internationales
Nous contacter : darempred@yesbreizh.bzh
www.nhu.bzh/yes-breizh-a...

✅ @yesbreizh.bsky.social présent à #Cardiff demain pour la Conférence Internationale #ICEC au Canolfan yr Urdd
👉 www.nhu.bzh/yes-breizh-a...

So do I. #Wisden #ICEC

Wisden, cricket elitism and football punditry | Letters Letters: No pupil from a non-fee-paying school has ever received the Wisden schools cricketer of the year award, writes Dan Ayliffe. And Edward Binks says football pundits could learn a lot from their...

Mr Ayliffe and I concur. But then you might have guessed that.
#cricket #elitism #Wisden #ICEC
www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/a...

Cover of book 'Different Class: The Untold Story of English Cricket' (2022)

1/15
Inspired by the #ECB finally (yet inevitably) dropping the facade they'd ever implement the #ICEC Report.

Here's a social and cultural #history of English cricket in 14 #skeets:

No doubt some good people there.

My criticism is of the #ECB who should be directing their efforts towards the ‘hard to reach’ (previously ignored) communities highlighted in the #ICEC report.

The #ECB and corporate sponsors choose to do an event promoting Women’s #cricket at one of the best connected and economically resourced / expensive clubs in the country (average house price £733,333).

Bravo! 🙄
#ICEC #Elitism

www.ecb.co.uk/news/4209798...

Mihir Bose, @rafnicholson.bsky.social and I revealing a few home truths at Lord's last year (link should work):

#Gender #Class #Race #Cricket #ICEC

lords.canto.global/s/GCL81?view...

a bald man in a plaid shirt and vest is sitting in a crowd with his hands on his hips . ALT: a bald man in a plaid shirt and vest is sitting in a crowd with his hands on his hips .

£500m? The #ECB received £60 million from Sport England between '09 and '17 to promote equality and diversity and achieved a REVERSAL in #EDI and then £185m on #TheHundred (over four years) when the cost of implementing all of the #ICEC recommendations was £150m.
www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/j...

“Our talent pool at the moment is small…”

Men or women that’s never been truer in the history of English #cricket, and the reasons why were exposed throughout the #ICEC report.

Wearing my heart on my sleeve: the importance of academic activism Wearing my heart on my sleeve: the importance of academic activism

I banged my head against the brick wall that is the ECB / English cricket for a number of years. But, despite the #ICEC report highlighting ingrained discrimination, you can't get the turkeys to vote for Christmas. 🤷‍♂️

Still, gotta keep trying.

www.academia.edu/36774141/Wea...

Given the ingrained divisions (cultural, economic, gender and race) highlighted by the #ICEC (and, it seems, exacerbated by #TheHundred). How does English #cricket save itself from itself?

Some suggestions: angrysoutherneroopnorth.blogspot.com/2024/12/cult...

Some #NZvENG lunchtime reading for those interested in a more inclusive, and sustainable, future for #cricket in the UK in light of the #ICEC Report (yes, #TheHundred needs to go):
www.academia.edu/106132081/Cu...

‘What Do They Know of Cricket?’ The ECB's Refusal to Deal with Racism Duncan Stone reveals how the governing body of English cricket – like the country as a whole – can no longer promote a selective view of its history

#cricket #race #class #ICEC

bylinetimes.com/2022/06/28/c...

Budget 2024: ECB faces cuts to £35m government grassroots funding pledge for state schools A £35m government funding pledge towards grassroots cricket to help revive the game in state schools is said to be severely under threat from cuts in the Budget.

“Government officials are satisfied with the efforts made by the governing body to bring the sport to as wide an audience as possible” in the wake of the #ICEC report.

Oh really?! 👀

www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricke...

With #cricket in the UK, the idea of 'Reclaiming Narratives' goes far beyond Black British History. 📚 🏏

Yet, Black and South Asian Britons came to represent a bastion of authenticity that, ultimately, led to their exclusion from the game both on and off the field.

#BlackHistoryMonth #BHM2024 #ICEC

I'd already resolved not to attend a Lord's Test again (even thinking twice about the Oval) after this year's debacle. This only validates that decision.
The UK's most inclusive sport? The ECB are trolling us.
I'd rather sit with my mates at Guildford watching
Crouchy play.
#ICEC #elitism #cricket

Ice Cream Man Scoops Up Sales On eBay After Sony Movie Deal #icec Film rights to Ice Cream Man from W. Maxwell Prince, Martin Morazzo and Chris O’Halloran have been picked up by Sony.

Ice Cream Man Scoops Up Sales On eBay After Sony Movie Deal #icec

Why objective history, rather than romanticism, is central to a healthy inclusive future for English cricket History, from the bottom up rather than the top down, suggests the structure and culture of English cricket does not simply reproduce societal inequalities but frequently instigate them.

As #TheHundred shuffles off for another year ... a #Blast from the past on why objective #history is essential for an inclusive and sustainable future for #cricket post #ICEC Report:

www.sportanddev.org/latest/news/...

Recalling that time, following the publication of the #ECB's response to the #ICEC report, Sky Sports News gave me the opportunity to bang on about #publicschools. But you can't do videos here. :-(

#VAT #GE2024 #CharitableStatus