Sir Andrew Strauss calls for an end to ‘macho banter’ in dressing room
Wednesday February 01 2023, 8.00pm GMT, The Times
Strauss said dressing-room culture in men’s cricket will need to be softened to a culture that is more tolerant, understanding, and welcoming
Sir Andrew Strauss has called for an end to the dressing-room “macho banter” which he believes can sometimes “verge on bullying”.
Strauss, delivering the 21st Cowdrey “spirit of cricket” lecture in front of MCC members and invited guests at Lord’s last night, focused on the changing face of the cricket world and his belief that a shift in culture is needed.
“The spirit of cricket needs to accompany modern players, and I am speaking primarily about the men’s game now, into an area that neither the prying eyes of the media or the feverish adulation of the fans penetrates — the dressing room,” Strauss, the former England captain and ECB director of men’s cricket said.
“As we move forward together as a game with players of different genders, races, creed and beliefs coming together, so the traditional macho, hierarchical, perhaps at times verging on ‘bullying’ dressing-room banter will need to be softened to a culture that is more tolerant, understanding, welcoming and embracing of difference.
“The events over the last 18 months, whether they come from Yorkshire or elsewhere, have shown we have a lot of work to do in this area, but the Spirit of Cricket demands this. From a players’ point of view there will clearly need to be an awareness that the world is watching every move that they make in a way that was never the case previously, both on and off the pitch. With more opportunities and rewards comes more scrutiny and intrusion.
“While in the past players might have been able to swallow the odd invisible pill, these days they are likely to be in short supply. In addition, the best players, wherever they hail from, will have to weigh up their own personal aims and ambitions alongside their loyalty to their own countries and formative teams. This may lead to some hard soul-searching, but in the name of the spirit of the game, it must be done.”
Strauss was speaking 15 months after Azeem Rafiq’s first appearance in front of a Parliamentary select committee in which he made allegations about racism at Yorkshire, prompting plenty of fall-out on how to make the game more inclusive.
Strauss’s words came as the English game is braced for some damning revelations about its lack of inclusiveness in an independent report, due in a few weeks’ time, which has taken evidence from more than 4,000 people and is likely to highlight issues around misogyny, racism and class discrimination within the game.
The continuing rise of the women’s game is part of a shift in culture and expectations, Strauss contends, with the launch of the women’s Indian Premier League in March signalling another seismic shift in the cricketing landscape
“As for the women’s game, the rate of growth will just accelerate” he said. “The first IPL franchises have just been sold for an earth-shattering sum of £465 million pounds. Women’s cricket is truly standing on its own two feet and is likely to be in the top three sports for earning potential for any young girl with talent and an ambition to play sport professionally.”
Within his lecture was an acknowledgement that the game is changing more rapidly than ever and, though that will lead to some angst among traditionalists, the power within the game has now shifted from the boardrooms to the fan.
“In the past, it could be argued that certain interests, whether they lie in this room, or in the corridors of the ECB and other national governing bodies, or on the boundary edges of the county grounds, took precedence over others,” he said. “This is no longer the case. No one, not even the BCCI, controls the game anymore.
“There are too many people involved, too many variables, too much disruption and chaos for anyone to be pulling all the strings. In a sense, the game has democratised. While this is confronting and perhaps difficult to hear for some, I feel like we should be rejoicing in this fact. The game now has both more freedom and more levers available to allow it to fulfil its purpose than ever before. There is genuine choice for players, spectators and followers alike. The future direction of the sport will be decided not in the meeting halls of the ICC in Dubai but rather by the purchasing power of the increasing number of those who choose to follow the game.”