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In 1996 former professional cricketer Courtney Rickets travelled from Bristol to Lords.

He had a question: how could the MCC reconcile its highly-publicised campaign to Clean Bowl Racism with the appointment of David Graveny as Chair of Selectors - the man who managed the 1989/90 rebel tour to South Africa.

Rickets, along with many other commentators, suggested it was another signal that the English cricketing establishment had closed its eyes to the role race and racism had in shaping the national and international game. American Cricketing enthusiast Mike Marqusee suggested "the cricket authorities have up till now adopted a 'hear no evil see no evil' approach to the touchy subject." A decade on, and a plethora of equalities initiatives, reports, confessions and statements later, Rickets says the deep-rooted racism that characterised his playing days is still with us. Now a teacher in one of Bristol's academy schools, he sees the dearth of talented young black players successfully making the move from black feeder clubs such as Bristol West Indies to the county ranks as evidence of that ongoing discrimination. He says it's driving them away from the game and costing England the success it might otherwise have. Courtney Rickets moved to England from Jamaica in 1985 determined to carve out a career as a professional cricketer. He started playing for the Brixton West Indians. He recalls how the other player laughed when he told them that he was going to make it as a top class cricketer. "They told me it was a fantasy. They said lots of very talented West Indian cricketers had come through the local West Indian club sides but found their progress stunted at the county level."

But he soon began to carve out a reputation for himself as a top-class all-rounder. He toured the West Indies with Haringey Cricket College opening the bat and scoring twice as many runs - 482 - as any other cricketer with an average of 32.13. He was also the leading wicket taker.

On returning to England he was spotted by Sussex. A successful wicket taking debut against Gloucestershire led to a front cover feature on the London Cricketer suggesting he "is in a class of his own". But it's in this debut that we find the roots of Ricketts' concern with the game. Despite a proven batting ability he was placed firmly at number 11.

When he questioned the decision he was told by his captain "You darkies haven't got the brain for batting and I'm gonna make sure you bowl until you arm falls off." And it's that kind of racism that plagued the rest of his stop start career with Gloucestershire and Essex Cricket Clubs.

He points to the similar experiences of other players such as Carlos Remi, Ricky Williams, Frankie Griffiths and Alex Tudor. He suggests they all had careers stunted by a cricketing establishment that was unable to accept their full talent as black men. And it's that kind of racism that Rickets says is blighting the prospects of the talented young black cricketers he is working with today in schools and in the Bristol West Indies clubsides.

Newspaper columnist Peter Wilby suggests cricket's problem with race goes far deeper than selection and development. "It derives from the history and character of the game", it's association with a particular brand of Englishness - the village club, the village green, the afternoon tea. It's that that made it ideal for Norman Tebbit's 1990 Cricket Test. And it's that that made it the ideal rallying point for Robert Henderson to question the commitment of players born outside the UK to the interests of the English team in general and, by implication, Great Britain in particular.

There is a tangible emotion in the air when Rickets talks about the game. He is passionate about it. And yet at the same time you he tells stories of unfulfilled potential - his own and that of his contemporaries. And it's the pain and frustration of a professional who believes he sees though the politically correct language of modern day diversity drives to a cricketing order that has fundamentally been unable to adapt to modern Britain. The challenge is clear.

Published: 05 June 2007
Issue: 1272