Australian Broadcasting Corporation sports presenter Paul Kennedy, a former footy player and current journalist, was asked in the Grade Cricketer vlog if he was concerned about “the impact of India’s approach to cricket in Australia”. He suggested instead that “cricketers of Indian or South Asian heritage may actually be the answer to the future of cricket in Australia.
Citing some eye-popping statistics, Kennedy said cricketers of South Asian heritage were vital to increasing participation in Australian cricket. “If you look at all sports, which I do, the participation level is a big thing. If you want to operate as a sport, you need people playing the game, especially a big game like cricket. If you look at immigration to Australia, India is now Australia’s A big part of life. And they play cricket. It’s about 40% of kids of South Asian heritage. We went to Truganina in the west of Melbourne. 160 years ago “There are 420 teams now. And some sports haven’t got the diversity to secure the future of the game. So it’s like a gift to cricket,” he told Grade Cricketer.
Earlier last month, writing on abc.net.au, Kennedy insisted that the current participation boom in Australian sport was unlike any other trend: “Five years ago, 10 per cent of registered cricketers at all levels in Australia were of South Asian heritage; Cricket Australia’s head of cricket, James Alsop, said the figure was 20 per cent and rising.
The writing mentions other growing numbers. “Registrations for Cricket Blast, an introductory cricket-style program for children under 10, saw children of parents from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan increase by 26 per cent for boys and 29 per cent for girls in the last one year. By local, state and national associations Running representative programs say 17 per cent of their players are now of South Asian heritage, 40 per cent for boys and 25 per cent for girls in the under-12 age group is.”
However, a serious statistic presents itself in Kennedy’s conclusion, because he said that the revolution has not yet reached the professional ranks, where South Asian family contracted state players are 166 elite men and 122 women and less than five percent at the top level. Only Usman Khawaja and Alana King had a national contract.
Cricket Australia’s multicultural plan aims to double the number of South Asian players at state level by 2027. Alsop was quoted by ABC.net.au as saying, “We’re getting in. But we still have a lot of work to do and we’re not ashamed of it. We want to ensure that all clubs accommodate people from all cultural backgrounds, which has been a big focus for the past five years.”
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