But despite the lofty claims those of us who love the game make for it, cricket cannot offer a true reflection of life or of sport in general. Cricket stands apart. Cricket is different.
That's the first thing to know as we consider an exhilarating Ashes contest, but also the cloud of the damning Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC) report. It found the English game blighted by "widespread and deep-rooted" racism, sexism, elitism and class-based discrimination at all levels.
In cricket, more than any other game, what happens off the field is as important as what happens on it. In football and rugby, both teams contest the same ball. In tennis, rivals volley over a shared net using the same equipment. And yet, cricket sees players act in uniquely opposing ways. Eleven teammates gather with a leather ball to stop two batters from scampering 22 yards (20 metres) to score runs. The objective is inherently exclusionary - to make sure the batters are forced off the field of play and relegated to the sidelines.
Cricket has long reeked of the English obsession with class. Until the 1960s, two tiers of cricketers existed: amateurs, who were called gentlemen, and professionals, who were called players. There were even separate changing rooms. In such a stratified game, social mingling in a match acquires a huge significance. There is a dance of human interaction and social norms.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة July 07, 2023 من The Guardian Weekly.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة July 07, 2023 من The Guardian Weekly.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
If kids get protected from online harm, how about the rest of us?
The Australian government has proposed a ban on social media for all citizens under 16.
'It's not drought - it's looting'
Spain is increasingly either parched or flooded - and one group is profiting from these extremes: the thirsty multinational companies forcing angry citizens to pay for water in bottles.
Life in the grey Zone
Neonatal care has advanced so far that babies born as early as 21 weeks have survived. But is this type of care always the right thing to do?
Out of tune? Band Aid under fire for Africa tropes as it turns 40
Forty years ago this month, a group of pop stars gathered at a west London studio to record a single that would raise millions, inspire further starry projects, and ultimately change charity fundraising in the UK.
Deaths shine spotlight on risks of drinking on party trail
Vang Vieng is an unlikely party hub. Surrounded by striking limestone mountains and caves in central Laos, it morphed from a small farming town to a hedonistic tourist destination in the early 2000s.
Different strokes My strange and emotional week with an AI pet
Moflin can develop a personality and build a rapport with its owner - and doesn't need food or exercise. But is it comforting or alienating?
Strike zone Waking up to the rising threat of lightning
When the Barbados National Archives, home to one of the world's most significant collections of documents from the transatlantic slave trade, reported in June that it had been struck by lightning, it received sympathy and offers of support locally and internationally.
Cheap pints and sticky carpets: the old-school pub is back
In the Palm Tree pub, east London, barman Alf is taking only cash at the rattling 1960s till.
Brain gain Can a radical tax scheme convince the country's brightest to stay?
In the autumn of 2018, I moved to Lisbon for a month-long course at the Universidade .de Lisboa.
Fear and sympathy in small town divided over asylum camp
A year after anti-immigration riots, a site for asylum seekers faces hostility while some locals try to help new arrivals
