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From The Times July 9, 2009 Middlesex look closer to home for next Owais Shah Mike Atherton, Chief Cricket Correspondent The presence of Ravi Bopara and Monty Panesar in England's ranks is testament to the rise of the Anglo-Asian cricketer in recent times, an advance that has in some measure made up for the decline among the Anglo-Caribbean community. However Middlesex, the county who represent the greatest number of Asians, have only one Anglo-Asian - Owais Shah - in their first team. County teams are less representative of their communities than they have ever been. The freedom of movement granted to players, the advent of agents keen to maximise their clients' earnings, and the arrival of Kolpak cricketers and fly-by-night overseas players have resulted in a more fluid market than ever. Even so, Middlesex's monoculturalism is remarkable. This is not a slight on Middlesex's ability or desire to produce home-grown players, rather that they produce home-grown players of a certain type. The middle-class, suburban grip on the English game is nowhere better illustrated than at Lord's - the ground, and the team who play there. It is something that has exercised the mind of Angus Fraser, the Middlesex director of cricket, and the estimable Scyld Berry, the long-serving cricket correspondent of The Sunday Telegraph and now the editor of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack . Berry, in particular, has long lamented cricket's inability to tap into inner-city areas that must be heaving with talent - and probably unorthodox talent at that. Between them they came up with the idea of an inner-London cricket competition, designed to bring a previously ignored section of the community into the fold and to promote social cohesion and harmony through sport. It is intended that the project will embrace other cities in 2010, so that a national inner-city competition will result. This newspaper is sponsoring the London East division (they go by the name of The Times Tigers), while Freshfields, WHI and Barclays are sponsoring the teams from the North East, North West and West respectively. The competition starts on Tuesday and will be played at Brondesbury, Southgate, Hornsey and Eastcote cricket clubs. Even though the clamour surrounding the Ashes will drown out everything else, this is a competition worth noting and supporting: surely there must be a potential Murali, Ajantha or Lasith out there somewhere. Details can be found at wisdencitycup.com
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