Ethnicity in aussie cricket wahts the real status

[McKanga]

1.31% in a population of about 20mill is still over 200,000 people tho. The figures that Neil quoted suggest our ethnic-subcontinent population is only about triple that, percentage wise.

Well we have quite a few thousand from Afghanistan and to generalise cricket is not their game, plus they are not that amenable to assimilating.
As I've said before we have quite a few Sri Lankans and they are the opposite. They love the game and assimilate well but I don't know of any rising up the ranks.
I don't know where the balance are, the Indians and Pakistanis. They are not the obvious demographic here they are in the UK. Having lived over there for just under two years I'd be surprised if they were only 1/3 the representation in the population they are in Britain. But figures don't lie I guess.

 

[Dick Rockett]

The situation seems very similar to here in NZ. Cricket is primarily played and followed by whites and subcontinental Asians - and even then, there haven't been many of those that have played for the national side. Dipak Patel was actually Kenyan.

It's really sad IMO that Maoris aren't into cricket - they'd be brilliant at it I reckon.

 

[vic_orthdox]

Kumar Sarna has turned out to be an interesting case study. I mentioned him earlier in this thread:

Kumar Sarna will be an interesting one. He'll be in for a shock at the Academy. Good batsmen - not much chop at calling, running between wickets, fielding, bowling, discipline, etc.

Kumar was a few years younger than me, but I played U/19 cricket with him when he was an U/17. He was prodigiously talented, a very good batsman. He made some great knocks in district cricket, and had earned himself a few 2nd XI matches and two rookie contracts.

Sarna's success a challenge to staid Victorian thinking - Cricket - Sport
Young star brings hard, fast talents - Cricket - Sport - theage.com.au

Things sort of changed, as he was part of the system. The emphasis on everything else apart from hitting the ball with a bat rose, the fact that he couldn't field was emphasised and highlighted, and in the eyes of those in charge he didn't work hard enough on it. He still scored runs, but they weren't seen as a good enough excuse the other weaknesses in his game.

Life as a rookie can be hard, having to face the pace bowlers that Hodge and Hussey don't want to face because the decks are a bit dodgy, fitting in training around study, and other issues. But in his second pre-season, he was suspended for two weeks, for continual lateness and other disciplinary reasons. He didn't get many runs at the start of the season, and by the end of the first month of the season he'd quit cricket in Victoria, including club cricket.

Sarna case symptom of cricket's burgeoning malaise - Cricket - Sport
Bushranger rookie walks out - Cricket - Sport - Dandenong Leader

He went back to India, where he was born and supposedly was going to chase a T20 contract, whether with the IPL or ICL, as a local cricketer. I don't believe anything ever came of it. However, he reappeared on the radar earlier this year, signing with Wonga Park CC, who play on synthetic pitches and is a good few levels below district cricket.

This week, he made a pretty amazing knock:

Batsman smashes 228 off 65 at Croydon Twenty20 match - Cricket - Sport - Manningham Leader

The Australian game places an emphasis on fielding and ticking off all the little things. Sarna had no concept of the idea; things like wearing Australian kit to Victorian junior training were regular occurrences. I guess the question is whether this is a reason why we see a lack of sub-continental background players in the upper echelons of the system, and are we right to expect these players to tick off the same requirements that have held the game in good stead here over the past two decades?

 

[morgieb]

With regards to it....

* Most European immigrants tend to lean towards soccer, for obvious reasons.
* Most Oriential (SE Asian) immigrants don't play sport, and if they do, it tends to be basketball or soccer.
* Similarly, most South Asians don't play sport. Still, there should be more subcontinental cricketers in Australia than Dav Whatmore and Usman Khawaja - just look at England, for example.
* Most Islanders play league, or to a lesser extent union, again for obvious reasons.
* Don't really care about the others, Aboriginals lean towards AFL or league.

 

[Noble One]

Batsman smashes 228 off 65 at Croydon Twenty20 match - Cricket - Sport - Manningham Leader

The Australian game places an emphasis on fielding and ticking off all the little things. Sarna had no concept of the idea; things like wearing Australian kit to Victorian junior training were regular occurrences. I guess the question is whether this is a reason why we see a lack of sub-continental background players in the upper echelons of the system, and are we right to expect these players to tick off the same requirements that have held the game in good stead here over the past two decades?

I heard his interview on SEN this morning. Sounds like a tool.

Good effort with the bat though, regardless of the league he plays in.

 

[vic_orthdox]

Did they ask him about his past experience with Victoria?

 

[Noble One]

Did they ask him about his past experience with Victoria?

It was mentioned that he played U/19 cricket for Australia, but no mention of anything else to do with his past.

Any word on why he is playing for Wonga Park? Seems a massive fall for such a talent, but I imagine he is just looking to play with his mates now.

 

[brockley]

Been following sydney grade this year ailheen beadle had a poor season so far,maybe reason why we haven't seen him in the 2nd xl side this year.
Need better coaches in grade it seems.

 

[vic_orthdox]

Not even his mates, he was from the South East Metro region, which doesn't include Wonga Park. He played his club cricket at Dandenong, and the coach of Wonga Park was an assistant coach at Dandy when Kumar was there.

 

[Jono]

@ Dale Thomas playing in that match. How random