What a week it has been for cricket. It began with that scalding ICEC report on the ‘racist, sexist and elitist’ state of the game in England. This report was commissioned by Ian Watmore, briefly the chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board, as a kneejerk reaction to Azeem Rafiq’s accusation of institutional racism. The report was presided over by Cindy Butts, who has been an activist for Black Lives Matter and perhaps has an axe to grind. As it stands, the report is devastating for English cricket, but much more needs to be known about the way in which it was put together and about the credentials of those who did so. I have spoken since its publication to a number of people who have played and been involved with the game for many years. They have all said that this report does not begin to represent the game which they played. I am sure there are problems within English cricket which need urgently to be put right, but I find it hard to believe that the game is in quite the cesspit state that Ms Butts has made out.
The Lord’s Test Match started the next day and was surrounded by an astonishing buzz of anticipation. On the first day England’s bowlers wasted a good opportunity; on the second, it was the batsmen who kicked a colossal own goal. In the final equation, England had a day and one session to score 371 to level the series. The extraordinary Ben Stokes played one of cricket’s great innings. It deserved to win the match, but 155 was not enough and Australia move on to Headingley for the third Test, two matches up.
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