Captain Ben Stokes stresses England players have ‘a responsibility on and off field’ ahead of Headingly Test | Nikhilodien
Captain Ben Stokes stresses England players ‘a responsibility on and off field’ | Nikhilodien
Nikhilodien - The Headingley Test, which at one point looked in danger due to racism allegations at Yorkshire, gets underway on Thursday.
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As his team gets ready for the Headingley Test, which
was once put in jeopardy by the damaging claims of institutional racism at
Yorkshire, England captain Ben Stokes has emphasized that his team's
"duty" to the game goes beyond the playing field.
Following his appearance before a parliamentary
select committee last year, Azeem Rafiq's allegations of institutional racism
and discrimination while he was a member of the White Rose garnered cricket
some unwelcome front-page news.
In what will be remembered as a somber turning point
for the game, more claims were made against Yorkshire as well as other
counties. At one point, the England and Wales Cricket Board suspended
Headingley's eligibility to hold international cricket.
The club might not have survived the financial blow
of that sanction, but it was eventually rescinded after steps taken by a newly
appointed head, Lord Kamlesh Patel, convinced the ECB that the problems were
being handled properly.
Even if the ECB has filed disciplinary complaints against the club and "several individuals," the resumption of the Test team over the next five days represents some level of business as usual. However, the story is far from done.
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) June 23, 2022
Surprisingly, Stokes was allowed to answer questions about Patel because Patel was only absent during the Headingley practice sessions and Yorkshire management made no further appearances.
It was maybe unrealistic to expect him to handle the load after only a few weeks in the position and with a Test series still going on.
He replied, "I've got my duties for the squad that I'm in charge of right now. And we must carry out our work both on and off the field. We are aware that if we continue to do well on the field, more people will get interested in watching the game. Going out and playing cricket and winning games is all we can do and what we're excellent at. But we are aware that, as members of the international cricket team, we do have a duty both on and off the field. Going forward, I'm sure there will be a lot of things that the England cricket team and I, as captain, will be responsible for doing.
The counterpart to Stokes, Kane Williamson spoke as well,
having spent four seasons between 2014 and 2018 playing for Yorkshire as an
international signing. He gave a positive outlook for the future but didn't
elaborate much on his own experiences in the changing room.
The events that have taken place, he remarked, have been really
sad. "I can only hope that something good comes out of it and that people
will use the awareness it has generated to move forward positively."
Racism and bigotry have no place in either society or sports. I had a great
experience at Yorkshire on my few stays here. You can only hope that there will
be healing because certain issues have only lately come to light. There has
been a great deal of awareness throughout the entire world, and there are now
efforts to maintain that awareness and make the world, whether in sports or
other workplaces, a more inclusive environment.
Souce Content:- https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/cricket/ben-stokes-yorkshire-england-kane-williamson-headingley-b2107118.html
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