Dissertation- Should Wales have its own independent cricket team- Angikaar Choudhury

Should Wales Have Its Own Independent Cricket Team?

Angikaar Choudhury

August, 2015

This dissertation is submitted to the Cardiff School of Journalism, Media & Cultural Studies, Cardiff University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Journalism

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Acknowledgements

At the outset, this dissertation is dedicated to my parents who tolerated my lifelong love

for cricket, allowed me to pursue it as a career and have always encouraged me to go

after the game I love.

I would also like to acknowledge the Asian College of Journalism and Cardiff University

for the opportunity to allow me to do such an interesting piece of work. Many thanks to

Mr. Tim Holmes for his wonderful mentoring and his encouraging words, especially

during times when I got despondent during the course of my dissertation.

Thanks must also go to Mr. Michael Hill who was a wonderful source of ideas for this

dissertation. For all the people I spoke to, thank you so much for taking time out of your

busy schedules and giving me valuable information for my research.

Last but not the least, the Art & Social Studies Library in Cardiff which proved a vast

reservoir of information for all my research work.

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Contents

Declaration ................................................................................................. ii

Acknowledgements .................................................................................... iv

Contents ..................................................................................................... 6

Section 1 ...................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

Chapter 1: Introduction ............................................................................. 8

Chapter 2: Critical Review ...................................................................... 10

Chapter 3: Methodology ......................................................................... 14

Section 2 ................................................................................................... 16

Pitch ....................................................................................................... 16

Article 1: The glorious history of the gentleman‟s game in Wales ........... 18

Article 2: Establishing a Wales team would be correcting a „historical

wrong‟, say supporters of an independent Welsh cricket team ............... 24

Article 3: Not practically possible, say opponents of a Welsh cricket team

............................................................................................................... 32

Article 4: How the ICC is structured and where a hypothetical Wales team

would fit in it ........................................................................................... 40

Section 3 ................................................................................................... 48

Conclusion ............................................................................................. 48

Critical Reflection ................................................................................... 51

Bibliography ........................................................................................... 54

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Appendices ............................................................................................... 60

Appendix A: Interview with Sean Rees, Campaign Manager, Plaid Cymru,

Llanelli, conducted on July 4th, 2015 ...................................................... 60

Appendix B: Interview with Neil McEvoy, Plaid Cymru Councillor and

prospective Cardiff West candidate, conducted on July 15th, 2015 ......... 60

Appendix C: Interview with Mark Frost, former Glamorgan player and

director of Cricket Wales and current Glamorgan coach, conducted on

July 16th, 2015 ........................................................................................ 61

Appendix D: Interview with John Derrick, Performance Manager of

Cricket Wales, conducted on July 16th, 2015 .......................................... 62

Appendix F: Interview with Gareth Griffiths, sports journalist for Media

Wales, conducted on 23rd August, 2015 ................................................. 64

Appendix G: Interview with Andrew Hignell, chief historian and archivist at

Glamorgan Cricket Club, conducted on 27th July, 2015 .......................... 64

Appendix H: Email interview with Bethan Jenkins, Plaid Cymru

spokesperson for sport, received on 11th August, 2015 .......................... 65

Appendix I, Cricket Wales‟ response in October 2011 to petition

demanding Welsh national cricket team ................................................. 66

Appendix J, Response to the Petitions Committee Call for Evidence on

the Establishment of a Welsh Cricket Team from Simon Jones, Public

Affairs Manager, Sport Wales, Dated: 16/11/2011 ................................. 69

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Section 1

Chapter 1: Introduction

In the world of international cricket, Wales‟ position is unique. A part of the United

Kingdom, it is the only country within the UK to not be represented by an international

cricket team of its own. Wales, in international cricket, is represented by the England

cricket team, who are administered by the English and Wales Cricket Board.

The peculiarity of such a position is even more evident when other countries in the

British Isles are considered. Scotland have been represented by their own national

cricket team since 1994 after they became associate members of the International

Cricket Council (1994), the governing body for cricket in the world. Northern Ireland has

an all-Ireland agreement with the Republic of Ireland (which is not a part of the United

Kingdom) and the Ireland national cricket team represents both Northern Ireland and

the Republic of Ireland.

Wales‟ peculiar position stands out, in particular, when a comparison is made with other

sports. Wales is represented on the international football circuit by the Wales national

football team – in fact, the Football Association for Wales (FAW) is the third-oldest

national football association in the world. It is similar for another of Wales‟ other

favourite sports – rugby, where Wales have always had their own team and have been

quite successful in recent years. Strikingly, the Wales national rugby team enjoys a

competitive rivalry with their English counterparts.

Wales has enjoyed a long history in cricket with records of the game spreading from the

mid-eighteenth century (Hignell, 2008). The Cardiff Cricket Club was inaugurated in

1845 while later Glamorgan, the sole Welsh representative of the England and Wales

County Championship, was founded in 1888 and became the 17th member of the

County Championship in 1921.

Despite the English national cricket team representing Wales, a Welsh team continues

to play in the Minor Counties Cricket Championship. Previously, a Welsh team

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participated in the 1979 ICC Trophy, defeating Netherlands and Israel. Wales later took

part in the British Isles Championship between 1993 and 2001 and played a series of

„Natwest Challenge‟ 50-over matches between 2002 and 2004, famously defeating

England in 2002.

Various players of Welsh origin have represented England – some of these names

include Robert Croft, the first Welsh cricketer to score 10,000 runs and take 1,000

wickets in first-class cricket, Jeff Jones who played in fifteen Tests in the 1960‟s, Tony

Lewis and more lately Simon Jones who played an integral part in England‟s victory

over Australia in the 2005 Ashes

In recent years, there have been calls for Wales to have their own national cricket team,

distinct from the English team. Most of these calls are based on the criticism that Wales

has not been represented appropriately and adequately on the international stage. On

the other hand, proponents of the status-quo argue that the present arrangement is

beneficial for Welsh cricket and creating an independent Welsh cricket team would lead

to immense financial losses for the current Welsh-cricket set-up.

This dissertation proposes to investigate these demands and arrive at some sort of

consensus about a Welsh national cricket team. By incorporating the point of view of

both the stakeholders of this issue, i.e. those who advocate a Welsh cricket along with

those who strongly oppose such a hypothetical event, this dissertation aspires to

provide a balanced commentary on the issue.

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Chapter 2: Critical Review

The question about an independent Wales cricket team has cropped up quite a few

times in Welsh cricketing history, but there has never been any serious academic

debate about the practicalities of such an event.

Cricket was “the first organized team game in the country” of Wales (Hignell, 2008).

Cricket predates to the pre-1760‟s – there is evidence that cricket has been played

throughout the centuries with teams representing Wales playing against teams

representing other nations. The growth in popularity of some of Wales‟ other favourite

sports – football and rugby in particular - were an offshoot of the popularity which cricket

enjoyed in earlier times. A separate chapter in the main dissertation examines the

historical context of Welsh cricket to frame the debate for a Welsh national cricket team.

The birth of Glamorgan in 1888 is generally considered an epochal event in the history

of Welsh cricket. Later on in 1921, Glamorgan became a first class county – this proved

to be an important event as the Glamorgan cricket team, despite being named after a

specific county, have traditionally been considered to be the representatives of Welsh

cricket in the international stage.

However, questions of a Welsh cricket team have arisen at different points of history. In

1923, the Welsh Cricket Union was created, with the founder Norman Riches,

envisaging a Welsh cricket team. Since Glamorgan had just managed to gain first-class

county status a year previously, it was felt that such a move might be little hasty and

fool-hardy and hence it was decided that the question of a Welsh cricket team would

remain a long-term goal. (Hignell, 2008)

Later on in 1969, there was a growing tide of Welsh nationalism precipitated in part by

the investiture of Charles, the Prince of Wales. Glamorgan‟s twin victories over the

touring Australians in 1964 and 1968 had also added to the prevailing atmosphere of

Welsh nationalism. This led to the founding of a Welsh Cricket Association to organize a

national amateur team. Ten years later, Wales participated in the ICC Trophy, a limited

over cricket tournament for Associate and Affiliate nations in the International Cricket

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Council. However, Hignell, chief historian and archivist at the Glamorgan Cricket Club,

advises against looking too closely into Wales‟ participation in this tournament,

commenting that since a lot of countries refused to attend and since the tournament

was taking place in the United Kingdom, it was just easier to allow Wales to field their

own cricket team. 1

However, in recent years, the question of a Welsh cricket team has come up more

often. As early as 2001, Carwyn Jones, the First Minister of Wales and the business

minister at that time, called for a Welsh cricket team after a warm-up match between

England and Wales which Wales won. Arguing for either the England team to be

renamed a „Great Britain‟ team or a Welsh team in its own right, he commented that “it

is something that needs to be addressed given the obvious quality of Welsh cricket”.

(Western Mail, 2002)

Later in 2008, Mohammad Asghar who had recently become an Assembly Member on a

Plaid Cymru ticket gave another call for Wales to have its own cricket team. Speaking

after a one-day international match at Cardiff, Asghar was quoted as saying that, “I think

we should be ambitious for the future of cricket in Wales and I say it‟s now time for us to

establish a full national side that can compete with teams like these two great cricketing

nations.” However, a Welsh Assembly government spokesperson at that point

suggested that though the present government then (a Labour-Plaid Cymru coalition)

would provide additional support for sports bodies wishing to develop national Wales

teams, this would remain a matter for the governing bodies of cricket. (Williamson,

2008)

Jill Evans, a Plaid Cymru Member of European Parliament, came out strongly for a

Welsh cricket team in 2011 in partnership with Jonathan Edwards, Member of

Parliament for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr, in a long essay published on her official

website and carried by the mainstream Welsh press. Among the various arguments she

made, Evans pointed at the “odd scenario” where Welsh players try to get into another

country‟s team while stating that she believed that Welsh players deserved a chance to

1 Appendix F, interview with Andrew Hignell

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play on the global stage. Regarding the issue of Glamorgan, she hastened to admit that

Glamorgan had done a “fantastic job of representing us over the years”, but pointed to

the fact that if Glamorgan did represent all of Wales, the logical step would be the

setting up of a Welsh national team. (Evans, 2011)

Jonathan Edwards produced a far more detailed essay on his official website, providing

even more arguments and suggesting possible paths for a Welsh cricket team.

Alongside several other arguments, Edwards suggested a Welsh national side would

greatly boost the development of the game and would serve as a key economic driver.

He suggested two possible avenues for this path along with providing further

commentary on player eligibility and the role of the England and Wales Cricket Board. A

large portion of his arguments are explored in the main dissertation itself. (Edwards,

2011)

It was only in 2013, after years of talk, that finally some action seemed to be taken

towards the establishment of a Welsh national cricket team. In response to a petition,

the Petitions Committee of the National Assembly called for an “intelligent discussion”

over a Welsh cricket team, clarifying that this consultation would gauge the majority

view of the cricket community. However, at that time, David Morgan, a former ICC, ECB

and Glamorgan president, registered his complete opposition to such a move,

suggesting that a move towards a Welsh cricket team would result in the end of

Glamorgan as a professional club along with the end of the SWALEC Stadium, the

home ground on which Glamorgan play all their home games. (Henry, 2013)

Later in the same year, a plenary debate in the National Assembly also called on Wales

to have its own national cricket team and put an end to the existing agreement where

Welsh players could play for England. Plenty of points, both against and for the issue,

were raised during the debate. Among the voices calling for a Wales cricket team,

Bethan Jenkins, the Plaid Cymru spokesperson for sport, made the telling statement

that despite Wales being the second longest cricket playing country in the world, it was

alone in the British Isles by not having its own national side. Mohammad Asghar was

present at the debate and concurred with Jenkins‟ views.

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Among those opposing such a move, the chief argument came from Mike Hedges, an

Assembly Member from Swansea who provided a similar argument to Morgan and

saying that he believed, “In terms of developing the game, it‟s much better for us to stick

with the ECB.” He was supported by Peter Black, an Assembly Member from the Liberal

Democrat party, who argued that it would take “decades” for Wales to be playing cricket

with the top teams and having Glamorgan in the County Championship had allowed

cricket lovers to witness some great cricket matches over the years. However, the

conclusion of the debate was that all the AMs present agreed that the decision could

only be taken by the concerned sporting body. (Shipton, 2013)

Since then, talk about a Welsh cricket team has intermittently kept coming up. Matthew

Ford, a cricket fan currently based in London, has been running a social media

campaign online for a Welsh cricket team. Very recently, the Economist ran a small

profile on Ford, examining the issue. Though the publication agreed that funding would

be an issue, they quoted Bethan Jenkins as saying that an independent Wales team

would be able to make up the losses from ICC funding. (Economist, 2015)

This dissertation aims to connect all these scattered viewpoints and condense them in

one single work for easy reference in the future. It also aims to extend the various

arguments made by both the sides and examine the viability behind the different claims

to see if the proposal of a Welsh cricket team is actually feasible.

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Chapter 3: Methodology

For the purpose of this dissertation, I propose to use a mix of both primary and

secondary sources to conduct the research involved.

The primary source will mainly consist of interviews with individuals who are familiar

with the issue and have their own viewpoints on it. For this topic, it would involve

stakeholders of cricket, politicians with viewpoints on the issue as well as members of

the general public who have opinions on the issue. In the interests of fairness, I have

tried to take interviews from both ends of opposing spectrums and tried to

accommodate viewpoints from both ends, i.e. those opposing a Welsh national cricket

team and those advocating one. To that end, interviews have been conducted with

politicians of the Plaid Cymru party who strongly advocate a Welsh national team along

with officials from the Glamorgan Cricket Club, Cricket Wales and Sport Wales who lean

heavily towards the other side of the debate.

The purpose of doing this is to get to the depths of the issue and try and understand the

rationales behind the different viewpoints. These interviews will also allow me to get a

deeper understanding of the issue and understand the larger context of cricket, and

sport in Wales and the United Kingdom. It allows me to to gain a better understanding of

the issues related to my field of work – i.e. Wales‟ relations with England, Wales‟ sense

of identity in the larger United Kingdom and other related issues.

As is often pointed out, the art of the interview is “one of the - if not the – most important

tools” journalists have to obtain and expand on information (Martin, 2014). Interviews

have always been at the heart of the profession of journalism. As someone conducting

a journalistic thesis, it was only natural that I chose to use the tool of interview to gather

information. In this case, the interviews allowed to me develop a quick rapport with the

individual which allowed me to elicit information which might not have been possible to

acquire using other methods.

Other than interviews, I have also used secondary research for the purpose of this

dissertation. As mentioned in the „Critical Review‟, there is a large availability of

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information available online and in book form which serves as excellent reference for

my research. I have tried to use the information available to add greater context to my

research and have provided the necessary credit whenever required.

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Section 2

Pitch

To,

Sean Ingle,

Sports Editor,

The Guardian

[email protected]

Subject: Pitch for a series of stories covering a Welsh national cricket team

Dear Mr. Ingle,

Good day,

My name is Angikaar Choudhury – for the last two months, I have been based in Cardiff

doing research on the hypothetical possibility of a Welsh national cricket team. I have

just finished my research and the material is quite interesting – I would like to ask you to

consider the possibility of commissioning a series of stories based on this topic.

The overall tenor and theme of these pieces would fit in with The Guardian‟s editorial

ethos – it has, after all, argued for “greater decentralisation” in Britain. But even more

importantly, The Guardian has had a long-standing legacy for providing in-depth

coverage of cricket as well as asking some of the thorniest questions, which other

publications do not raise. A series of pieces exploring a Welsh national team would ask

uncomfortable questions of cricket administration in England and would also explore the

cricketing landscape of Wales.

I propose to structure the work within four pieces: the first piece would examine the

historical context of such a demand, along with exploring the cricketing relations

England and Wales share with each other, the second piece would go into the

arguments put forward by those who advocate a separate Welsh team, the third piece

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/sep/12/guardian-view-scottish-independence

17

would, conversely, examine the arguments made against a Welsh cricket while the

fourth piece would conduct a sort of reality check on the present way in which cricket is

administered globally and what Wales might hypothetically face if they set out and form

a national cricket team.

I look forward to hearing your comments about this proposal.

Thanking you,

Angikaar Choudhury

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Article 1: The glorious history of the gentleman’s game in Wales

When Mitchell Starc steamed in to deliver the first ball of the first over of the first 2015

Ashes Test at the SWALEC Stadium in Cardiff, it was moment which called for

introspection. This was only the second time the SWALEC Stadium was hosting an

international Test match – the first Test they hosted was in 2009, an incredibly exciting

match which saw Monty Panesar and James Anderson bat out eleven overs allowing

England to escape with a draw.

Yet it could have been so different. If things had gone a little differently, Cardiff might

never have waited so long to host their first Test match – they could have conceivably

become one of the United Kingdom‟s first Test venues by hosting a Test match in 1905.

In 1904, Joseph Brain, an important figure in Welsh cricket history, tried incredibly hard

to persuade the Marylebone Cricket Club to choose the Cardiff Arms Park as one of the

venues for the 1905 series against Australia. Despite his best efforts, Cardiff and Wales

lost out by a single vote, to Trent Bridge in Nottingham (Hignell, 2008). The rest, as they

say, is history.

When it comes to discussions about cricket in the United Kingdom, for better or for

worse, Wales often forms only a perfunctory part of the discussion. The general

sentiment seems to be that the Welsh are seemingly only obsessed with rugby and

football. A MCC member at Lords itself epitomized this attitude when he told me, “How

can they let Cardiff host a first Ashes Test match? What do they even know about

cricket?”

Cricket – among the oldest sports in Wales

But that is being incredibly unfair to a game which has as much history in Wales as it

does in England. It has been called “the first organized team game” in the country and

predates some of Wales‟ other popular sports – football and rugby (Hignell, 2008). In

fact, Cardiff City FC originated from the Riverside Cricket Club – the members of the

club wanted to continue playing even in the winter and hence decided to form a football

club called Riverside AFC, which went on to become Cardiff City FC. (Hignell, 2008)

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The earliest recorded cricket match in Wales is recorded in 1783 but it is generally

understood that the game as such goes back even earlier. Games involving bats and

ball which involved games like bando and trap-cat were probable precursors of cricket.

Similar to England, the earliest cricket games in Wales always included wagers

between teams or between their supporters.

It was around the area of Carmarthenshire that the earliest examples of cricket

abounded. “Most of the participants were from the gentry class – individuals who had

moved to England for education, learnt the game over there and brought it back,” points

out Hignell.2 “Cricket games at that time were more a tool for socializing and meeting

individuals from a similar class.” A newspaper cutting from 1785 mentions the existence

of a Swansea Cricket Club. (Hignell, 2008)

1859 marked an important year in Welsh cricket history – it was the first time a Welsh

cricket side defeated an English side in a match (Hignell, 2008). This precipitated the

formation of the South Wales Cricket Club, among the earliest representative teams

from Wales. The years between 1859 to 1877 saw plenty of Welsh sides take on

England in different matches held in both England and Wales. WG Grace, one of

cricket‟s most famous batsmen, even represented South Wales Cricket Club during this

time (Hignell, 2008). An influential figure who played a big role in shaping cricket in

Wales at that time was John Talbot Dillwyn Llewelyn, called “the first grandee of Welsh

cricket” who organized plenty of matches for the club he founded, the Cadoxton Cricket

Club. (Hignell, 2008)

The birth of Glamorgan Cricket Club

The birth of Glamorgan as a cricket club could probably be traced back to 1869 when a

Glamorganshire team was first formed. Around the early 1880‟s, calls sprung up for a

cricket team to represent Wales. The Glamorganshire club had folded up while the

South Wales Cricket Club also decided to fold up after a dreadful season. It was

through the efforts of JTD Llwelyn and JP Jones, a prominent architect from Cardiff, that

the Glamorgan Cricket Club was first established in 1888, in a meeting at the Angel

2 Appendix F, Interview with Andrew Hignell

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Hotel on July 6th (Glamorgan Cricket Club, n.d.). Though Glamorgan‟s first fixture

ended in defeat to Warwickshire, the creation of Glamorgan was a significant event in

Welsh cricket history which has repercussions till even present-day.

Glamorgan grew from strength to strength, inspiring nationalistic fervour and sentiment

within Wales. They became joint Minor Counties champions in 1900 (Glamorgan Cricket

Club, n.d.). Their crowning glory arrived in 1902 when an Australian team arrived at the

Cardiff Arms Park for the first time to play a combined Glamorgan and Wiltshire team. It

was a match for which the supporters turned out in droves – around 12,000 was the

attendance each day – and though the Australians won the match, it was an indication

of Glamorgan‟s rising clout.

International teams continued visiting the Cardiff Arms Park, the West Indies visited in

1906, the South Africans in 1907 and the Australians in 1909. Efforts to attain first-class

status for Glamorgan started in earnest and they didn‟t have to wait long – in 1921, the

MCC endorsed Glamorgan‟s application for first-class status. Glamorgan had a fairytale

start to first-class life – they defeated a full-strength Sussex side by 23 runs, sparking off

major celebrations. (ESPNCricinfo, n.d.)

In his book, Hignell (2008) points out that the emergence of Glamorgan as a first-class

county was a huge fillip for cricket in Wales and added to talk about the possibility of a

representative Welsh side. A meeting was held in February, 1923 at Shrewsbury

attended by representatives of the newly-formed North Wales Cricket Association along

with representatives from Glamorgan, Monmouthshire, Carmarthenshire and

Breconshire. At this meeting, Norman Riches, one of Glamorgan‟s stalwart captains and

captain of their first ever first-class victory over Sussex, opined that there was enough

talent in Wales for a truly representative national team to be formed. The Welsh Cricket

Union was formed at this meeting.

A distinct feeling around this outcome was that this could be the start of a campaign for

a Welsh Test team. However, Riches was critical of this line of thinking – he reckoned it

would lead to Glamorgan having to drop out of the County Championship, with Wales

having to be alone against England and other Test playing nations. After the hard work

21

put in to become a first-class county, this was not felt to be a desirable option. However,

Riches hoped it could be a much longer-term goal and felt a more short-term goal would

be arranging games against amateur sides.

Wales plays against the world

Hence, during the 1920‟s, Wales played a series of games against different international

teams, playing against teams like Scotland, Ireland, New Zealand, West Indies and

South Africa on their respective tours to England. Wales drew against New Zealand in

1927, defeated the West Indies in 1928 and lost narrowly against South Africa in the

same year.

The question of what-ifs is a delicious aspect of history. There is a what-if here also –

had Norman Riches been more convinced about going forward with a Welsh national

team, there might have conceivably been stronger support for a Welsh cricket team,

leading to the birth of one later in the future. What did happen though is that Glamorgan

became far more successful in the next few years and in the words of Hignell3,

“acquired a larger Welsh identity which led to a fall in calls for a Welsh team.”

Glamorgan‟s success began from 1930 when Maurice Turnbull became the first

Glamorgan cricketer to make his English debut, making his debut against New Zealand

that year. Turnbull was an important figure in Glamorgan cricket at that time who turned

around Glamorgan‟s situation and made them a far stronger team in the late 1920‟s.

Cyril Walters was another celebrated figure in Welsh cricket – becoming the first

Welshman to lead England in a Test in 1934. (Steen, 2009)

The journey towards acquiring a larger Welsh identity also started around this time.

Financial issues led to the merging of Glamorgan with the Monmouthshire club, which

allowed Glamorgan to field a 2nd XI in the Minor Counties competition. This action was

precipitated by Turnbull and Johnnie Clay‟s belief that it would lead to Glamorgan

acquiring a stronger Welsh identity as their club would have players from many local

clubs, which would lead to greater support (Hignell, 2008). Following on from this,

Glamorgan added places like Newport and Ebbw Vale to their list of first –class venues, 3 Appendix F, interview with Andrew Hignell

22

leading to greater support for Glamorgan. In fact, Hignell points out that Glamorgan

significantly enhanced its identity in the 1930‟s, by playing at grounds all over Wales

rather the „traditional‟ centres of Swansea and Cardiff. Some of the venues Glamorgan

played at included Pontypridd, Cowbridge, Llanelli, Neath and Newport. This enhanced

Glamorgan‟s profile as the county club representing Wales.

Glamorgan’s glory years

Glamorgan‟s glory years though started in definite with the arrival of Wilf Wooler after

the Second World War. His captaincy was one of the primary reasons behind

Glamorgan winning their first ever County Championship in 1948, precipitating massive

celebrations (Collins, n.d.). This triumph has been called a “defining moment” in Welsh

cricket history – even regarded as a “seminal moment” in Welsh sports history with the

triumph of 1948 drawing comparisons with other important Welsh sporting events like

Cardiff City winning the FA Cup in 1927 or the Welsh rugby team securing the Triple

Crown and the Grand Slam. (Hignell, 2008)

This was followed by two decades of sustained success. In 1951, the Glamorgan team

won a thriller against South Africa – a victory which few expected after they failed to

cross 150 in both their innings. Eight years later, Glamorgan defeated the touring

Indians by 51 runs. But the biggest moment of celebration came when the Glamorgan

team defeated Australia in 1964 by 36 runs, again leading to euphoria. As a line from

Hignell‟s book put it, “...as the songs grew louder and louder, it became clear that it

wasn‟t just Glamorgan who had won it, it was Wales too.” (2008)

As if to prove that it wasn‟t a fluke, Glamorgan repeated the victory over Australia, this

time in 1968 at Swansea, where Australia collapsed chasing a target of 364. The usual

celebrations followed but the biggest cheers were reserved for Australian captain Barry

Jarman who began his speech to the crowd with, “What‟s new about being beaten by

Glamorgan”. (Hignell, 2009)

This success was capped off by Glamorgan winning their second Championship title in

1969, helped by a strong bowling attack. As mentioned earlier, 1969 was period of

heady Welsh nationalism with Welsh sentiment rising high due to the investiture of

23

Prince Charles. The Welsh Cricket Association was then formed which subsequently

formed a Welsh team to play teams from England, Scotland, Ireland and the MCC. As

noted earlier, a Wales team even took part in the ICC Trophy of 1979, after Gibraltar

withdrew from the tournament. Wales also enjoyed success in the Triple Crown

matches which led to the formation of a Wales Minor Counties side.

In the recent past, Wales have played a series of Natwest Challenge 50-over matches

with England between 2002 and 2004. They famously defeated England in 2002 which

was considered a great victory for the Welsh team and for Welsh cricket as a whole

(BBC, 2002). International cricket arrived in Cardiff with the 1999 World Cup with

Australia taking on New Zealand in a group game at the Sophia Gardens, the new

stadium that Glamorgan had moved to. From 1999 onwards, the Sophia Gardens has

seen plenty of international cricket with the first Test being held in 2009.

To sum up, it is important to understand that the legacy of cricket in Wales goes back to

many years – it is as old as cricket in England. Over the years, there has been plenty of

sentiment over a Welsh national team but Glamorgan‟s rise and success have allowed

them to represent a Welsh identity. As an indicator of that, the Glamorgan team

rebranded themselves as the “Welsh Dragons” in limited-over competitions from 2011 to

2012. (BBC, 2011)

Glamorgan‟s importance in Welsh cricket history cannot be overlooked. Even advocates

of a Welsh national team insist that Glamorgan‟s position in England‟s County

Championship be maintained, partly due to the historical importance Glamorgan has

always enjoyed. Hence it is imperative that whichever way the argument for a Welsh

cricket team goes, Glamorgan‟s position in Welsh cricket history is a fact that must

always be considered.

24

Article 2: Establishing a Wales team would be correcting a ‘historical

wrong’, say supporters of an independent Welsh cricket team

“It‟s very obvious,” says Andrew Hignell, an archivist at the Glamorgan Cricket Club, as

if explaining something ridiculously simple.4 “Robert Croft put it exactly the right way. He

said, when I play for Glamorgan, I feel I play for Wales. When I play for England, I feel I

play for Britain.”

It all sounds very nice and simple. And according to Hignell, that‟s the most convenient

explanation for any questions about Welsh representation on the international cricket

stage. But a large group of people currently would beg to disagree with Hignell.

A sense of injustice

Neil McEvoy, a councillor from Cardiff with the Plaid Cymru party, is an outspoken

person. He doesn‟t mince words. And like a savage slash through the offside, he‟s quite

clear about what he thinks of Wales‟ current cricket establishment.

“Look, it‟s high time we realize we‟re Wales, not England. Glamorgan is a great county,

but it‟s NOT a Welsh cricket team,” shoots off McEvoy.5

It‟s an interesting scenario. As the advocates of an independent Welsh cricket team

never fail to remind you, they are the only country in the British Isles without a cricket

team of their own. England have one, Scotland have one, so do Ireland. Even Guernsey

and Gibraltar have their own cricket team.

For supporters of a cricket team for Wales, this is a massive anomaly that must be

corrected. And fast.

Jonathan Edwards, the Member of Parliament from Carmarthen East and Dinefwr, has

been a strong supporter of an independent Welsh cricket team. In 2011, he put up an

essay on his official website, titling it, “Towards A National Future for Welsh Cricket”.

4 Appendix F, interview with Andrew Hignell

5 Appendix B, interview with Neil McEvoy

25

Wales has twice as many clubs as Scotland and four to five times as many as Ireland,”

argues Edwards, on his website. “Wales has a cricketing grass roots equivalent to New

Zealand and a total population similar to New Zealand, who is a full member of the ICC

and Test playing nation” (2011). These don‟t seem to be empty claims – an article

published in The Economist in 2015 provided the following statistics: Ireland with a

population of 6.4 million has 6000 club players while Wales with a smaller population of

3 million has 7500 club players. (2015)

To make the point even stronger, it is not as if Wales have never had their own team. A

cursory look at the history of Welsh cricket suggests that Welsh sides have often played

against England sides. A Wales team has played against sides like New Zealand,

South Africa, Ireland and Scotland in the early 1920‟s. In 1923, Norman Riches, the

captain of Glamorgan‟s first inaugural match against Sussex, was behind the initiative to

create a truly representative Welsh team – to that end, the Welsh Cricket Union was

created. (Hignell, 2008)

In 1979, Wales participated in the ICC Trophy. As recently as 2004, Wales and England

played a series of limited-over exhibition matches with Wales winning the first one in

2002. But even more recently, the Wales‟ women‟s cricket team participated in an

international tournament as late as 2005, the European Championships in 2005 where

they finished a respectable third. (CricketArchive, n.d.)

Is Wales sufficiently represented in international cricket?

There is also the accusation that Wales as a cricket nation has not been given its due

by England. Though called the England and Wales Cricket Board, the official acronym,

“ECB”, leaves out the “W”, representing Wales. As Jill Evans, a Member of European

Parliament for Plaid Cymru points out while describing the English team, in an argument

published on her official website, “The team wore the English badge with three lions on

their chest and played under the flag of St George and were, correctly, referred to as

the England team” (2011). The last Welsh player to play for England was back in 2005

when Simon Jones tore through the Australian attack in the 2005 Ashes. (Griffiths,

2015)

26

The England team supposedly represents both England and Wales, but as Jill Evans

points out, “The current arrangements mean that rather than having a team of our own

and picking our 11 best players we must instead try to get players into another country‟s

team” (2011). For the advocates of a Welsh national team, this is a factor that rankles.

The idea of English cricket not giving enough respect to Cardiff was given a boost when

the first 2015 Ashes Test was scheduled to be held in Cardiff. Even after the

announcement, questions abounded about why the first Test of a showcase Ashes was

given to Cardiff, rather than more traditional English Test match centres like Old

Trafford or Edgbaston (Berry, 2015). When the proceedings did get underway, there

were plenty of complaints about the nature of Cardiff‟s pitch, despite the match itself

being an exciting four-day affair that resulted in an England win (Chowdhury, 2015).

According to McEvoy, all of this is proof that “there‟s a massive lack of respect from

England cricket towards Wales.”6

All of these are pretty strong arguments so it leads to the next important question: if

there‟s so much demand for a Wales cricket team, why haven‟t we seen one yet?

The answer lies in a matter much more practical and less emotional: funding. Where

would the money to sustain a Welsh cricket team come from?

Currently, cricket in Wales is managed by Cricket Wales along with Glamorgan. As part

of the County Championship, Glamorgan get funding every year from the ECB, while

Cricket Wales also gets around £400,000 a year (Economist, 2015). As part of the ECB,

Glamorgan also gets international matches allotted to them which contribute to its

revenue. Both Glamorgan and Cricket Wales argue that attempting to form a Welsh

national cricket team would have disastrous consequences – Glamorgan would lose all

its funding from the ECB, no more international matches would take place at Cardiff but

most importantly, all cricket players in Glamorgan would lose the chance of playing Test

cricket.

6 Appendix B: interview with Neil McEvoy

27

But Ford rubbishes those suggestions. “There is international funding available from the

ICC,” pointing to the figures for Ireland.7 “Look, we can‟t just rely on potentially hosting a

few England matches every season for revenue. If we form our own team, we‟ll at least

be guaranteed some games.”

Ford is also confident that Wales will be able to play international teams who are touring

England. “Most teams who come on tours to England play against Ireland or Scotland,”

he says8. “But if Wales forms its own team, we‟ll be in a far better place. Cardiff is far

closer to England than Ireland or Scotland and with similar conditions, so international

touring teams would rather play here.”

That doesn‟t mean Ford or Edwards are gunning for high-profile cricket to disappear

from the SWALEC Stadium. Two of Edwards‟ arguments in his official argument are: i)

Glamorgan‟s status as a first class county must be maintained and ii) Sophia Gardens

status as Test venue cannot be jeopardised. Edwards argues that it is disingenuous by

those opposed to a Welsh cricket team to assert that Glamorgan‟s status would be

endangered, pointing to David Collier‟s assertion that Glamorgan would be welcome to

continue in the English County System with a Welsh cricket team. Edwards also argues

that the Sophia Gardens should also be able to bid successfully for Test cricket

involving England, pointing out that there are no ICC rules to prevent Test nations

hosting home games at venues outside the country. (2011)

Matthew Ford agrees with Edwards and points out that there‟s always been a precedent

of Welsh clubs participating in English leagues and vice-versa in United Kingdom‟s

sporting history. The best examples are of Swansea and Cardiff City, who continue to

play in the English Football League despite Wales having their own football team9.

“It would be very spiteful for the ECB to chuck Glamorgan out, if Wales forms its own

team,” says Ford10. “Especially when you consider that Glamorgan are among the

oldest stakeholders of its County Championship, having being around since the 1920‟s.”

7 Appendix E, interview with Matthew Ford




28

So far so good. But there‟s no getting away from the fact that if Wales does choose to

go it alone, the days of watching high-profile Ashes cricket might be over. In place,

Welsh cricket lovers might have to contend themselves with seeing Wales play off

against teams like Papua New Guinea and Nepal, to name a few.

“But isn‟t that better than watching maybe a couple of England games every summer,”

questions Ford.11 “In any case, people from Wales aren‟t watching cricket...60 percent

of the crowd at the last Ashes Test were from outside Wales.” Ford doesn‟t buy the

argument that games against Associate nations wouldn‟t be exciting, he thinks they‟re

“worthy opponents” and he‟d rather see games against them rather than England

playing Australia.

Correcting a ‘historical wrong’

But as Jenkins points out, creating an international cricket team for Wales is not just

about providing a level of good opposition. It‟s about supposedly correcting a “historical

wrong” (Economist, 2015). It‟s about creating a situation where “Wales can stand on a

world stage alongside the other nations, in the same way as we can do in all other

sports.” (Shipton, 2013)

There are the supposed benefits of a Wales cricket team: it would lead to a greater

profile for Wales, especially in the Indian subcontinent where cricket reigns supreme. “A

Welsh team competing in a cricketing World Cup could be a key economic driver as a

significant boost to brand Wales, “argues Edwards (2011). This argument though

ignores the fact that even if a Welsh cricket team is created now, it would hypothetically

take them at least more than a decade to qualify for a World Cup and play against the

big teams..

Even Evans mentions that the profile Wales would gain in the Indian subcontinent would

be a massive economic boost for Wales (2011). McEvoy, on the other hand, points to

other benefits, “A Welsh cricket team would ensure more people take interest in the

game... we might even see a lot of ethnic minorities in Wales take up the sport. “12 Sean

11

Appendix E, interview with Matthew Ford 12

Appendix B, interview with Neil McEvoy

29

Rees, a campaign manager for Plaid Cymru in Llanelli, concurs with McEvoy‟s view,

saying “future exposure could be massive.”13

What then are the prospective ways in which Wales could hypothetically form its own

team then?

The path to a Welsh cricket team

Edwards suggests two possible ways in Wales can go about creating its own cricket

team. The first method, according to him, would be creating a system where the

England and Wales Cricket Board would be allowed to field two separate teams, as they

seemingly represent two nations. Hypothetically, this would mean ECB fielding two

teams: one an England team for all global competitions, while another Welsh team to

play among the associations. Edwards agrees that this would be the simplest solution,

but it would require ICC making special provisions within its rules. Edwards admits that

other ICC members might also have an issue with it. (2011)

The second and the more likely solution would be for Cricket Wales to relinquish all ties

with the ECB and to seek ICC status as a separate nation. The advantage, according to

Edwards, is that it would not require support from either the ECB or the ICC – that is, if

the Welsh government decided to create a Welsh team, the ECB and the ICC would not

be able to prevent it (2011). Matthew Maynard, a renowned former Glamorgan player,

has supported the second method, suggesting that “the Cricket Board of Wales should

take the lead” in forming a Welsh team as the “ECB would struggle to form two

representative sides.” (Henry, 2013)

As pointed out by Edwards, it doesn‟t seem likely that the ICC would change its rule for

Wales so it seems more likely that the second method is much more viable. If Wales

does follow the second method, then various situations come up. The question about

the funding has already been discussed but there‟s a larger question about player

eligibility.

13

Appendix A, interview with Sean Rees

30

Currently, cricketers playing for Glamorgan have the chance to play Test cricket for

England. There‟s a long list of Welsh cricketers who‟ve played for England, ranging from

Maurice Turnbull and Cyril Walters to Robert Croft and Simon Jones more recently. The

advent of a Welsh cricket team however throws up questions: who represents Wales?

And do they still get a chance to represent England?

Edwards has an answer for that puzzle as well in his argument. He refers to ICC‟s rules

that a male player wishing to play for an Associate or an Affiliate nation may not have

played international cricket for any other member in the preceding four years, but there

are no similar regulations for those players who wish to do vice-versa (i.e. playing for a

Full Member team after playing for an Associate or Affiliate nation, similar to Ed Joyce

and Eoin Morgan of Ireland). Taking that rule, Edwards argues that a Welsh player

could hypothetically play for England whenever he wanted but would have to wait for

four more years before choosing to play for Wales. (2011)

The establishment of a Welsh national cricket team, argues Evans, would provide

Welsh players with at least a choice (2011). As she and the other supporters of a Welsh

cricket team argue, players wanting to represent England would have that chance, but

side-by-side, they would also have the chance to play for England. “England may be a

draw for certain Welsh cricket players,” admits Ford14. “But not for all. They would at

least get a chance to choose between England and Wales, which they don‟t get now.”

Ford has been running his campaign since 2010 and still actively tweets for a Welsh

national cricket team, using his Twitter handle @WelshCricket. He‟s hopeful for the

future. He‟s realistic about the stage the campaign is in: “It‟s a slow process...it started

in earnest in 2011 with the petition...then Plaid Cymru has made it part of their

manifesto. The momentum is slowly increasing and people are now questioning what‟s

happening.”15 He calls it a grassroots campaign but is sure there‟ll be more action later.

As a parting shot, Ford urges cricket administrators to look at football. “There was the

same argument about football...about how some of Wales‟ greatest football players

14


Appendix E, interview with Matthew Ford

31

could never play at the highest levels because Wales were never good at the sport. But

look at them now, they‟re doing so well. They might even qualify for the World Cup.”16

He urges cricket to take a leaf out of football‟s book.

It‟s a compelling set of arguments, mostly tying into a sense of Welsh identity. The

advocates of a Welsh cricket team have a compelling case when they argue that purely

on the basis of Welsh nationalism, a cricket team is required. But the economics of the

issue often interfere with the matter. Perhaps, as Rees pointed out17, it‟s high time that

all interested parties in the matter sit down and conduct a proper feasibility study to find

an answer for this, once and for all.

16


Appendix A, interview with Sean Rees

32

Article 3: Not practically possible, say opponents of a Welsh cricket

team

A small smile plays around Mark Frost‟s face when he‟s confronted with the question

about a Welsh cricket team. Frost is someone who‟s probably in a better place than

most to give an informed opinion about the subject – he‟s played for both the

Glamorgan and the Wales Minor Counties team, has worked with the Sports Council for

Wales and served as the director of cricket for the Cricket Board of Wales between

1999 to 2004. He‟s a coach with Glamorgan these days as well as being an established

author.

“I think...it‟s a fundamental question of what kind of ambition does Wales have towards

cricket? Because if the ambition is to play at the highest level, then automatically, you

can‟t think about a Welsh independent cricket team,” sums Frost up18.

To a certain degree, he‟s correct. There have always been intermittent calls for a Welsh

cricket team but both Cricket Wales and Glamorgan Cricket Club have shot it down,

pointing out to the likely negative ramifications of such an event – all Welsh players will

lose their chance of playing at the highest-level.

Glamorgan offers a path to the highest level of international cricket

“A player‟s ambition is to aspire to play at the highest level,” points out Frost19.

“Someone who‟s playing for Glamorgan can hypothetically aspire to play for England

one day at the Test level. But not only that, they get to hone their skill levels, week in

and week out at the County Championship. Tell me, why should players give up the

chance of playing at the highest level?”

That‟s pretty much exactly what Cricket Wales have also pointed out. In their response

to a 2011 petition for a Welsh cricket team20 , Cricket Wales says, “Welsh cricketers

have the opportunity to play professional cricket week-in-week-out for Glamorgan

18

Appendix C, interview with Mark Frost 19


Appendix I, official response from Cricket Wales

33

County Cricket Club and to play Test, One-Day-International and Twenty20 cricket for

England.” It makes a direct comparison to Scotland and Ireland saying most Scottish

and Irish players are semi-professional and play at a lower standard than the standards

at Glamorgan Cricket Club. In the hypothetical scenario that Cricket Wales relinquishes

ties with the England and Wales Cricket Board, it warns that all Welsh players would

join English counties to qualify to play for England and hence it would be very difficult

for Wales to form a strong team.

But even more importantly is the question about the finances.

A question of practicality

“Look at this,” gestures Andrew Hignell, the chief historian and archivist of the

Glamorgan Cricket Club21. Behind him are indoor cricket nets where a group of

enthusiastic school boys are running in and practising. “Can you imagine what could

happen if Cricket Wales decided to take Associate membership from the ICC? This

would all disappear. What would happen to the SWALEC Stadium?”

Does Hignell have a point? Cricket Wales and Glamorgan think so. According to Cricket

Wales, “The ECB provides Cricket Wales with funding to play the above games and to

undertake many other initiatives that enable the sport to develop in Wales. This funding

is used to strengthen cricket within communities throughout Wales including projects for

seniors, juniors, boys, girls and those with a disability.”22 The implication to what would

happen if this funding is stopped is obvious; cricket would be direly affected in Wales.

“Leave aside all the emotional arguments,” continues Frost23. “Look at it financially.

Economically, it‟s just not feasible. Any project for a Welsh cricket team would require

massive public funding. Where would the funding come from?” There‟s also the

question of the ramifications of such a move on Glamorgan. “The SWALEC Stadium

could be renovated mainly because of the funding Glamorgan receives from the ECB

and for also the fact that it can stage international games and get revenue, “he points

21

Appendix F, interview with Andrew Hignell 22

Appendix I, official response from Cricket Wales 23

Appendix C, interview with Mark Frost

34

out. “If Wales forms an independent team, Glamorgan might have to leave the County

Championship. What happens to the SWALEC Stadium then? Where do Welsh

cricketers play cricket?”

These are all uncomfortable questions which at the moment, have no answer as the

entire argument is the realms of hypothesis. An Economist article argued that if Wales

hypothetically form an independent team, they might gain access to bigger funding than

what they receive from the ECB at present (2015). However, as the official response to

the petition showed, most individuals at Glamorgan and Cricket Wales feel it‟s better to

stay with the status-quo.

Frost, however, has found a different way of looking at things. “This topic (of a Welsh

cricket team) is a dormant one. It comes up intermittently, especially during times when

there have been no Welsh players in the English team for a while,” he suggests. As

proof, he points to the period of time when England had a healthy representation of

Welsh players – players of the ilk of Robert Croft and Simon Jones. “You never heard it

then...” he says24, with some degree of finality referring to calls for a Welsh cricket team.

John Derrick, the performance manager for Cricket Wales is far more direct about it.

“We haven‟t got the setup or infrastructure in Wales to try for a Welsh team, quite

frankly,” he comments.25 “We‟re not good enough to compete at the highest level, I‟m

afraid. We might be able to compete with some of the Associate nations but nothing

beyond that.”

Derrick is also understandably quite upset with comments from advocates of a Welsh

cricket team that there isn‟t enough feeling for cricket in Wales due to the lack of a

national team. “That‟s absolutely rubbish,” he says in an aggrieved tone26. “I am

associated with many age-group cricket teams and if you go to any of them and

question them about Wales, believe me, they‟d have a lot to say! There‟s a very strong

feeling for Wales in our setup.”

24


Appendix D, interview with John Derrick 26

Appendix D, interview with John Derrick

35

A players’ view?

What about these players though? Advocates of a Welsh team often say that a Welsh

cricket team would give Welsh players a choice between playing for Wales or England.

But is there much of a sentiment among Welsh players themselves to play for Wales on

the international cricket circuit?

“No, absolutely not”, says Frost27. “Never in my time when I was playing. It‟s never been

hot topic for Welsh players because they want to play at the highest level and they get

that through Glamorgan. For most Welsh players, playing for Glamorgan is like playing

for Wales while playing for England is like playing for Britain.”

Hignell gives the example of Robert Croft, one of Wales‟ greatest all-rounders and

Wales‟ first cricketer to achieve the notable distinction of scoring 10,000 runs and 1,000

wickets. “Croft always used to say that playing for Glamorgan was like playing for Wales

and playing for England was like playing for Britain,” says Hignell. “That‟s pretty much

how all the players here think“ (White, 2001). Unfortunately, efforts to contact Croft

proved futile.

International cricket at the SWALEC

Another aspect of the argument revolves around the prospect of the disappearance of

international games at the SWALEC Stadium. Since 1999, international games have

been played there – in 2009, the first Test match took place at Cardiff which involved a

thrilling finish where James Anderson and Monty Panesar grimly fought through a last

wicket stand which allowed them to escape with a draw (Brett, 2009). Even more

recently in 2015, Cardiff saw another Ashes Test where, to the delight of a packed

crowd, an unfancied England came out with a comprehensive victory against Australia.

(Griffiths, 2015)

Each day of these Test matches were played to full-capacity crowds, obviously leading

to huge revenues for Glamorgan. Cricket Wales and Glamorgan warn that if Wales

decides to go down the path of forming a Welsh cricket team, there is a high probability

27


36

that this will see the end of international cricket being held at SWALEC Stadium and in

extension, in Wales.

“International cricket at the SWALEC Stadium is very important,” argues Derrick.28 “It is

essential that it continues.” That is pretty much what Cricket Wales have argued in their

official response, “the ECB should play home games in the new SWALEC Stadium

since it provides great profile for cricket in Wales and also vital income to Glamorgan

County Cricket Club and the local economy. Everyone involved in cricket in Wales has

the opportunity to be inspired by live cricket of the highest possible standard. Cricket

Wales played an important role in helping Glamorgan Cricket secure a 2015 England

Ashes test match at the SWALEC Stadium, through the joint development of an

ambitious plan for the future of the game in Wales.”

But advocates of a Welsh cricket team think otherwise. They claim most of the

audiences that come in to see international cricket are not from Wales itself and mostly

come from places in England near Cardiff. They also go on to state that people in Wales

don‟t come to watch cricket because there‟s no Wales cricket team.

Does that point have any basis in reality? Not if you ask Derrick. “The cricketing public

in Wales are realistic,” he says29. “Financially, we have to survive and they realize that.”

Hignell agrees with him and suggests that Glamorgan have acquired a larger Welsh

identity allows people in Wales to get behind them30.

A more neutral view comes from Gareth Griffiths, a sports journalist for Media Wales

who has covered cricket in Wales for many years. Unlike any of the stakeholders of the

issue, Griffiths can provide a more balanced viewpoint on things. The first thing he

points out is that there needs to be a look at the funding to see if things can work out.

28



Appendix F, interview with Andrew Hignell

37

He‟s interested to know whether advocates for a Welsh cricket team have a plan in

place on how they intend to fund a Wales cricket team.31

As a journalist, has he seen much of a sentiment among people in Wales for a cricket

team? “No,” he replies.32 “It seems to be more of a populist move. The general

consensus is that Glamorgan is the Welsh representative on the international stage –

and people tend to get behind them.”

Cricket Wales and Glamorgan also enjoy support from Sport Wales, a national

organization in Wales responsible for increasing performance and improving

performance in sport. In a response to the same petition33, Sport Wales emphasised

right at the beginning that it was a matter for Cricket Wales and they would support any

decision which Cricket Wales would take in this matter.

However, Sport Wales went on to suggest that they supported Cricket Wales and

Glamorgan‟s decision of remaining part of the ECB. On the whole, they made the same

warnings which Cricket Wales had made in its official response, contending that “We

would be concerned if the establishment of an independent Wales team would see

Glamorgan alienated from the County Championship. There is every chance that this

could result in Welsh professionals opting to play for English counties resulting in a dip

in focus and standards in Wales. “

The bigger issue, according to Sport Wales, was with regard to the England and Wales

team being exclusively referred to as „England‟ and the acronym for the England and

Wales Cricket Board being just the ECB, which, they admitted, led to the perception that

Wales is overlooked. Can the issue as such be boiled down to the simple matter of

correcting an acronym?

David Morgan, a former ICC president and former chairman of the ECB and Glamorgan,

was one of the men at the helm when the ECB came into existence. He admits that the

31

Appendix F, interview with Gareth Griffiths 32

Appendix F, interview with Gareth Griffiths 33

Appendix J, official response from Sport Wales

38

acronym is an issue that could be addressed, ““It is the England and Wales cricket

board, that‟s its officially registered company name limited by guarantee. I was very

careful, when I set it up, that Wales appeared in its title.” (Henry, 2013)

The politics of the issue

As a political matter, opinion is divided. Plaid Cymru is the only party which officially

supports a Welsh cricket team and had made it a part of their party manifesto for the

2015 United Kingdom elections (Hughes, 2015). Their spokesperson for sport, Bethan

Jenkins has been quoted as saying that a national cricket team for Wales would ensure

“Wales can stand on a world stage alongside the other nations, in the same way as we

can do in all other sports” (Shipton, 2013). Another supporter of a Wales cricket team is

Mohammad Asghar, who in 2011, said, ““Glamorgan is not Wales - Glamorgan is part of

Wales. Cricket is played in one quarter of the world. Playing international matches

against countries like India and Pakistan would raise Wales‟ profile and deliver huge

economic benefits.” (Shipton, 2013)

However, there is opposition in political circles also. In the same article, Swansea East

Labour AM Mike Hedges was quoted as saying that it was better for Wales to stick to

the ECB as it had much more money than the ICC. An AM from the Liberal Democrats

Peter Black also agreed with him and opined that having Glamorgan in the County

Championship had been of “great value” to cricket in Wales. “It‟s enabled us to have

some great matches over the years, including the one at St Helen‟s in Swansea in the

1960s when Gary Sobers hit six sixes in an over [the first time the feat had been

achieved].,” he suggested. (Shipton, 2013)

“The cons completely outweigh the pros,” sums up Frost34. And that might certainly be

true. The main bones of contention are issues which no one clear has an answer for.

Both parties in the conflict seem to have approached the issue from different

perspectives. While advocates of a Welsh cricket team argue for the team on emotional

34


39

and nationalistic reasons, Glamorgan and Cricket Wales contend that it is not financially

possible.

Perhaps, it would be wise for both the parties to look at the issue from the lens of the

opposition. Until both the parties are at cross-purposes, what we may see is more of

talk and very less concrete action taking place. It would be much more prudent for both

the interested parties to put on the lens of the opposition, sit down at a table and maybe

have a frank, long discussion about each and every aspect of such a complex issue.

40

Article 4: How the ICC is structured and where a hypothetical Wales

team would fit in it

Through the last three pieces of this series, an attempt has been to understand and

recognize the relevance of the game in the country of Wales. The first piece in the

series attempted to trace the historical context of the game, before finally concluding

that the game as such is very old and is enshrined in the history of sports in the country.

The next two pieces attempted to understand the arguments from both sides of the

sporting divide, analyzing and understanding the arguments that both parties give in

order to justify their respective stands.

While it is hoped that through these pieces, a better understanding of the relevance of

the game in Wales has been arrived at, it is also important to take a look back and

understand the wider context of international cricket. Cricket is an international sport

and played in many countries. By some accounts, it is the second-most popular sport in

the world, in terms of the number of fans following it (BR, 2011). As an international

sport encompassing various nations and different cultures, it is important to look at the

way cricket is administered internationally to develop a better understanding of whether

Wales should have its own cricket team.

Till now, the issue has mostly revolved around the possibility of Wales fielding its own

cricket team without much discussion what this would entail for the future. While

providing historical context and emotional reasons to back the argument up is fine, it is

also essential to know what the future holds if Wales indeed goes about to create its

own cricket team. Where would Wales‟ position be in the international cricketing world, if

they actually take this hypothetical step?

The structure of the International Cricket Council

First a quick round-up of how cricket is administered. World cricket is run by the

International Cricket Council, which was founded in 1909 as the Imperial Cricket

Conference, with Australia, South Africa and England as its founding members (ICC,

n.d.). In 1989, it was renamed the International Cricket Conference. As its official

41

website puts it, the ICC “is responsible for the administration of men's and women's

cricket including the management of playing conditions and officials for Test Match and

One-Day International (ODI) cricket and the staging of international cricket events for

men, women and juniors.” (ICC, n.d.) The current chairman of the ICC is N. Srinivasan

from India.

There are three categories of membership in the ICC hierarchy. The first are the Full

Members consisting of ten nations who are adjudged as qualified to play Test match

cricket, the highest form of the game. The current Full Member nations in the ICC are

Australia, England, India, South Africa, Pakistan, New Zealand, West Indies, Zimbabwe,

Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Bangladesh is the most recent entrant to this club, having

gained Full Member status in 2000.

Just underneath the Full Members are the Associate nations. These are nations which

do not qualify for Full Member status but are recognized as countries where cricket is

firmly established and organized. The official ICC website gives a list of over 30 nations

– some of the nations in the list include Ireland, Scotland, the United Arab Emirates, the

United States, Afghanistan and others (ICC, n.d.). Other British territories with Associate

membership include Cayman Islands, Gibraltar, Guernsey, and Jersey. All Associate

nations are eligible to play in the ICC World Cricket League, an international one-day

tournament for national teams without Test status. This league has various divisions

and works on a system of relegation and promotion; it also works as a qualification for

the ICC Cricket World Cup, which takes place every four years.

The World Cup qualifier

Qualification for the World Cup is through the ICC World Cup qualifier, a tournament

which allows the top nations from the ICC World Cricket League to qualify for the World

Cup. For the next World Cup in 2019, the ICC World Cup Qualifier will take place in

2018. The bottom four teams in the official ODI rankings will play against the top four

ranked teams in the 2015-17 ICC World Cricket League. They will be also be joined by

the Division Two finalists of the ICC Cricket World League, the final of which is

42

scheduled to be held in 2018. The top two teams from the tournament will qualify for the

2019 Cricket World Cup, alongside the top eight Full Member states.

The top six Associate teams are eligible for One Day International status, which allows

them to play against the Full Members. As of 12th August 2015, Ireland and Afghanistan

are on the official ICC Team Rankings table – Ireland are ranked 10th, above Zimbabwe

a Full-Member nation and Afghanistan are ranked 12th (ICC, n.d.). The other four

nations with ODI status but not part of the official ODI ranking table are the United Arab

Emirates, Scotland, Papua New Guinea and Hong Kong (ICC, n.d.). However, these

four nations will be able to qualify for promotion to the official ICC ODI rankings table if

they fulfil certain criterion.

Besides these, some Associate nations have official Twenty20 international status. The

nations with official ODI status automatically gain official T20i status. The other

Associate nations with official T20i status are the Netherlands (ranked 13th) and Oman

(haven‟t played sufficient games yet to gain a ranking). (ICC, n.d.)

Affiliate nations occupy the rung just below the Associate nations – they are countries

recognized by the ICC where cricket is played in accordance with the official Laws of

Cricket. There are over 50 recognized Associate nations currently in international

cricket. In the context of Wales and its ambitions for an independent team, it is

interesting to note some British territories that have been granted Affiliate status: the

Falkland Islands, the Isle of Man, Saint Helena and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

The importance of the ICC Intercontinental Cup

It is also important to mention the importance of the ICC Intercontinental Cup, a

tournament for Associate Members to play first-class cricket. Though the

Intercontinental Cup has been played from 2004 onward, it has recently become an

opportunity for Associate Members to gain an opportunity to play proper Test match

cricket. In 2014, the ICC announced changes to the Intercontinental Cup to provide

Associate nations a way to play Test cricket: the winner of the Intercontinental Cup

would play off against the lowest ranked Test side in a Test Challenge (ESPNCricinfo

Staff, 2014). The inaugural Test Challenge is scheduled to be held in 2018 while the

43

latest ICC Intercontinental Cup will be held between 2015 and 2017. The Associate

nations competing in the tournament will be Ireland, Afghanistan, Scotland, United Arab

Emirates, Hong Kong, Papua New Guinea, the Netherlands and Namibia (International

Cricket Council, 2015). It is important to note however that this system is still unclear on

how a top Associate nation could gain Full Member status, allowing it access to the

funding and the other advantages that the Full Member nations enjoy.

The reason for giving such a detailed explanation of the structure in world cricket is

simple: this is exactly the sort of structure through which Wales would have to navigate

if they did choose to form their own cricket team. It is essential to look at what this

journey would ascertain, what may the benefits be of navigating through this structure,

what the trade-offs are likely to be and then decide on the best path forward.

Wales’ hypothetical path forward

To start off, the very first question that comes up about a hypothetical Wales national

team is: where would they start? As Jonathan Edwards points out in his argument for a

Welsh cricket team, a Welsh cricket team would probably be given Associate nation

status due to its “strong player base and security” (2011). This would be in line with

what happened with Scotland and Ireland – Ireland became Associate members in 1993

and Scotland in 1994. Scotland‟s case is an interesting example – they severed ties

with the then-governing body for cricket in England, the Test and County Cricket Board

before joining the ICC as an independent Associate nation.

Advocates of a Welsh cricket team point at Ireland‟s example and argue that Wales

could make a similar case for itself. It cannot be doubted that Ireland have put in a very

strong case for themselves after becoming an Associate nation. Their initial years after

becoming an Associate nation were tough – they failed to qualify for the 1999 and 2003

World Cups. However in recent years, Ireland‟s rise to becoming the top Associate

nation has been one of the stories of cricket. In their first ever World Cup, Ireland tied

with Zimbabwe, defeated Pakistan and qualified to the next stage, the Super Eights. In

the Super Eights, they even managed a comprehensive victory against another Full

Member nation, Bangladesh. (Cricbuzz, 2007)

44

Are comparisons with Ireland justified?

Since then, Ireland have gone from strength to strength. They have performed

admirably in Associate cricket, winning the ICC Intercontinental Cup four times. In the

few chances they have got against the Full Members, Ireland have often pulled above

their weight: they defeated England in a famous match in the 2011 World Cup where

Kevin O‟Brien scored the fastest century in a World Cup (Sheringham, 2011). They

excelled again in the 2015 edition, defeating West Indies, Zimbabwe and the UAE

(Press Association, 2015). It is Ireland‟s example that proponents of a Welsh cricket

team point to and hope to replicate.

Yet, it is also important to look at Ireland‟s journey in a different light. Ireland‟s repeated

success at the international level has led to demands from quarters that they be given

Full Member status (BBC, 2015). Despite these demands, Ireland are still not a Full

Member and have to be content with playing the Associate nations and the occasional

World Cup. Recent changes to the Intercontinental Cup have given Ireland a shot at

playing an occasional Test match but as has been mentioned previously: there is still no

clarity about how they are supposed to gain Full Member status, something which they

arguably deserve.

It is something which Wales should take heed of. Ireland have been playing

international cricket for over two decades now and have only started performing

admirably in only the last decade or so. Yet despite this level of performance, there is

no guarantee that Ireland will gain Full Member status and get a chance to regularly

play Test matches. The ascension to Full Member status also would also allow access

to greater funds which would lead to greater development of cricket in the country.

What does it mean for Wales? It basically means that if the cricketing structure of the

ICC remains as it is, Wales would be stuck playing cricket with the Associate nations for

the foreseeable future. Unlike Ireland, this could be a major issue for Wales. Due to its

relationship with the ECB, Wales has traditionally been part of the international cricket

calendar with various international games being played in Cardiff over the years.

45

However with Wales playing only Associate nations, there is a high possibility that

interest levels in cricket among the Welsh public would be limited. No disrespect meant

to any of the Associate nations, but for cricket lovers in Cardiff who are used to seeing

England‟s finest play regularly at the SWALEC Stadium, it would be difficult to get

accustomed to seeing a Wales team play against a Nepal or a Papua New Guinea. This

is one factor which would require serious discussion and deliberation.

It would also not be easy for Wales to become a top Associate cricket nation overnight

and press its case for Full Member status. Currently, Associate cricket is in the pink of

health: Ireland are obviously the standout performers, but teams like Afghanistan,

Scotland, United Arab Emirates, Nepal and Papua New Guinea have performed

admirably. Wales would have to critically analyze its cricketing resources and take a call

on whether they would be able to match up to that level of performance.

Questions remain about funding

The other question veers around the question of funding. As part of the ECB, Cricket

Wales and Glamorgan receives significant funding – in their official response to a

petition demanding a Welsh cricket team, Sport Wales put the figure at around £2

million annually35. According to Cricket Wales, this funding is used to undertake various

initiatives to develop the sport in Wales. Some of these initiatives include strengthening

the standards of cricket within various communities in Wales, according to Cricket

Wales. Additionally, international games held at the SWALEC Stadium also help

supplement that revenue.

If Wales does choose to form its own team, this source of revenue would most probably

dry up and Wales would have to rely on funding from the International Cricket Council.

Both Sport Wales and Cricket Wales argue that funding from the ICC would be

substantially less than what they receive now and would have a negative impact on the

game in Wales.

However, in a recent Economist piece, the publication quoted Bethan Jenkins, the

spokesperson for sport of Plaid Cymru, the party supporting an independent Welsh 35

Appendix J, official response from Sport Wales

46

cricket, who argued that Ireland‟s funding from the ICC was more than what Glamorgan

and Cricket Wales receives (2015). Jenkins also argues that36, “If Wales were to stand

alone, it would be able to draw down funding from a number of development pots

created by the International Cricket Council. It would also be able to host One-Day

Internationals and Tests at Sophia Gardens involving other countries, and create

revenue that way.”

However, it is indeed true that funding from the ICC would be limited in the initial years

of Wales‟ hypothetical independent era. Associate-level funding from the ICC is mostly

dependent on performance – if Wales does indeed perform spectacularly in its initial few

years as an independent cricket nation, it will be able to attract funding on the level of

Ireland. However, it is those intermittent years that remain the worry – where would the

funding come from then?

Ireland‟s spectacular success arrived only from the late 2000‟s and they have often

faced funding issues themselves. Some of their best players like Eoin Morgan and Ed

Joyce opted to play for England since they had the chance to play Test-level cricket.

Ireland‟s lack of a first-class structure was also a major issue – it was only in 2011 that

Cricket Ireland announced plans to put a first-class structure in place. (McGlashan,

2011)

Wales would face similar problems. Apart from funding, there are likely to be issues in

the future about Welsh players choosing to play for England to play Test-match cricket.

This, in a way, is slightly exacerbated by the global structure of the current ICC set-up –

as Ireland captain Ed Joyce once commented, cricket seemed to be “the only sport that

has a World Cup that is contracting rather than expanding” (BBC, 2015). The decision

to limit the next World Cup in 2019 to only ten teams additionally has come as quite a

crushing blow to the Associate nations (Gollapudi, 2014). The ICC has still not been

able to formulate a clear path forward for Associate nations to achieve Full Member

status – they are also controversially against the inclusion of cricket in the Olympics

which would allow greater funding for Associate nations. (Isam, 2014)

36

Appendix H, interview with Bethan Jenkins

47

However, the ICC‟s decision to allow for an ICC Test Challenge in 2018 is still a step in

the right direction and it is hoped that more such steps will follow in the future. In the

meantime, any decision on whether Wales should form its own cricket should be taken,

considering the global ramifications. While a question of a national team is obviously

intricately linked with national identity, it is also essential that a pragmatic and practical

approach be followed before any major decision is made.

48

Section 3

Conclusion

As can be understood from a cursory reading of this dissertation, Wales‟ position in

international cricket is certainly unique. But what can also be understood is that there

are perhaps no easy solutions to solve this peculiarity.

That Wales enjoys a long and proud historical tradition of cricket is a fact that cannot be

doubted. The game has been part of Welsh sporting history since ages and is very

much a part of the sporting ethos of the country. There cannot be any doubt whatsoever

about the relevance of the game in Welsh sporting history.

Both advocates of a Welsh cricket team and their naysayers use this cricketing tradition

of Wales to supplement their own arguments. Advocates of a Welsh team point to

historical examples of Welsh teams playing against other sides, sometimes English

sides, to add to their argument that Wales has always had a representative team and it

is a „historical wrong‟ that there is no such representation at present. On the other hand,

the naysayers point to the fact that Glamorgan, the supposed representative of Wales,

has been part of the English first class system for more than hundred years now and

are already the de-facto representative of Wales.

Questions about a national team are often surrounded by nationalistic sentiments. The

demand for a Welsh national team does have an emotional background – as the ones

demanding it argue, it does seem an unfair deal for Wales to be the only nation in the

British Isles not to have its own cricketing team. The arguments provided by them

revolve around correcting this historical anomaly and righting a wrong. Nor can these

arguments be summarily dismissed – every nation in the world has the right to self-

expression and sports teams representing nations occupy a pride of place in every

country‟s sense of self-identity.

On the other hand, arguments opposing this demand acknowledge the sentiment

behind the demand but argue that the sentiment does not have basis in reality.

49

Glamorgan Cricket Club and Cricket Wales point out the financial repercussions of such

an event in Wales and contend that despite the nationalistic validity of such a decision,

there would be severe repercussions on the game in the cricket. As proof, they point to

the high levels of funding which cricket in Wales currently enjoys as part of their

association with the England and Wales Cricket Board and warn that such funding runs

the risk of vanishing if a Wales cricket team comes into existence. The other big factor

is the disappearance of international cricketing events from Cardiff – something which

may also greatly affect the game of cricket in Wales.

Though advocates of a Welsh cricket team dismiss these arguments as a sort of scare-

mongering, there is no denying that these are also cold facts which need to be looked

into. Nationalistic sentiments behind a Welsh team are no doubt important but it is also

essential to look into the practicalities behind such a step. Additionally, there is the

question of looking into the global administration of cricket currently and then taking a

call on whether a Welsh cricket team would ultimately benefit cricket in Wales. To sum

up, it is not an easy problem to solve.

There is also a need to involve two other stakeholders of the issue: the players and the

fans. At the end of the day, they are the main stakeholders: it is the players who are the

ones who will be affected the most by any decision made. Secondly, it is the cricket fans

themselves who have a right to make their voice heard. Their opinions count for much

and if the majority of cricket fans in Wales look upon the issue in a certain way, much

importance should be given to it.

To sum up, it is fool-hardy to believe that the demand for a Welsh cricket team will go

away soon if it is ignored and shoved under the carpet. Intermittent calls for a Welsh

cricket team have proven that it is an issue that keeps cropping up. The current climate

in the United Kingdom, especially the Scotland referendum, proves that the future will

see more nations in the British Isles demanding self-legitimacy. Hence, this is an issue

which certainly needs to be looked into. The problem at the present seems that both

parties have approached the issue from different perspectives – while the supporters of

a Welsh cricket team provide emotional arguments, the naysayers use cold and hard

50

logic. It is perhaps required that both parties approach the issue through each other‟s

lenses. There might be a tangible solution then to a vexing issue.

51

Critical Reflection

As a lifelong lover of the cricket, the chance to do a dissertation on cricket was one

which I jumped at immediately. Additionally, I had the chance of examining the game at

its very birthplace. The decision of examining the possibility of an independent Wales

team interested me – it had always struck me quite odd that there was no separate

Wales team, despite the existence of official English, Irish and Scottish teams. The

reason for doing the dissertation was also influenced by the fact that I would be based

in Cardiff and would hence be able to get a better insight into Welsh cricketing culture. It

has been an illuminating experience and in this section of the dissertation, I propose to

reflect on the experience of doing this piece of academic work.

The two months that I have spent in researching and writing this dissertation have been

quite eventful. I have been fortunate to talk to different people, all of them with some

extremely interesting opinions, attempt to understand the cricketing history of Wales

and perhaps even get a small taste of the political climate within the United Kingdom. It

has mostly been a great ride, but like all journeys, there are bound to be certain issues.

As part of my research, I spoke to various people. To get an idea of the arguments that

advocates of a Welsh national cricket team were making, I spoke to various politicians

from the Plaid Cymru party. Conversely, speaking to officials from Glamorgan Cricket

Club and Cricket Wales allowed me to get their side of the issue, which allowed me to

approach the issue, keeping in mind both sides of the argument.

However, my biggest regret will lie in the fact that I was not able to speak to the players

themselves, especially some of Wales‟ finest cricket players, Matthew Maynard, Robert

Croft and Simon Jones. I did try reaching out to all three of them, at times more than

once and using various mediums, including social media and email, but unfortunately

was unable to get a response. I believe their response would have been very

interesting; as some of Wales‟ biggest players, what had been their outlook while

playing the game? Did they ever think about representing Wales as a cricket team

rather than England? I did get to know from a secondary source about Robert Croft‟s

52

thoughts on the matter, but it would have been far more beneficial to manage to have a

short chat with the players.

Following on from that, the other regret would be I did not get the chance to speak with

current and former players in the current Welsh cricket set-up. As I have mentioned in

the conclusion, the players are the greatest stakeholder in the biggest issue – it is their

cricketing careers and future that will be affected by any decision that is taken. A

conversation with some of these players would have been very insightful and given

another angle to the entire issue.

Sport is nothing without the fans – as any sportsperson worth anything would say, it is

the fans for which any sport is alive. The topic of a Welsh cricket team is connected to

nationality and identity – and hence I am quite sure that plenty of cricket lovers would

have an issue or opinion on that. Unfortunately, another overlook of mine was not

getting the opinion of such cricket fans in Wales. At the end of the day, for any sport, it

is the fan that is important. Were everyday cricketing lovers in Wales happy or sad at

the fact that was no national team to represent their nation? Did they prefer to see

England take on international teams in their country or would they prefer to see their

own country play against some of the lesser known nations? Plenty of advocates of a

Welsh cricket team had told me that members of the general public did not have interest

in cricket because there was no Welsh cricket team. Conversely, individuals from

Glamorgan and Cricket Wales rubbished those comments and said there was plenty of

support for the game in Wales. But, I regret that I did not directly speak to members of

the general public and get their opinions on the issue. For anyone who does further

research on this topic, I would implore them to speak to both players and cricket fans in

Wales to get their insights on the issue.

Finally, another way in which I could have improved my research was getting more time

to approach the issue. This would have involved me coming to Wales earlier and

approaching people earlier. This way I might have been able to get interviews with a

wider variety of people who might have provided even more insights. Unfortunately due

to my work commitments and since I was an international student, that was not

possible, but as mentioned earlier, if anyone else does pursue this line of research, I

53

would implore them to spend at least two to three months talking to people to get a

wider variety of views on board.

In conclusion, this project will change the approach I take towards any kind of similar

practice. I would perhaps do more background research to get a better understanding of

the topic before I embark on my information-collection exercises. If given a choice, I

would perhaps try to devote more time in reaching out and talking to potential

interviewees and be more relentless with my approach.

At the end of the day, it has been an illuminating and extremely interesting experience.

My understanding of the game, especially in Wales as well as the United Kingdom has

improved considerably. It has also provided me the opportunity to look into the

background of the cricket, especially the administration, to understand how the game

runs. I firmly believe that this dissertation will greatly enrich my professional career

ahead.

54

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Interviews

Derrick, John, Performance Manager, Cricket Wales. 16 July 2015 [copy held]

Ford, Matthew. Social Media Campaigner for Welsh cricket team. 18 July 2015 [copy

held]

Frost, Mark. Former player and current coach, Glamorgan. Former director, Cricket

Wales. 16 July 2015 [copy held]

Griffiths, Gareth. Sports journalist, Media Wales. 23 August 2015 [copy held]

Hignell, Andrew. Chief historian and archivist, Glamorgan Cricket Club. 27 July 2015

[copy held]

Jenkins, Bethan. Spokesperson for sport, Plaid Cymru. 11 August 2015 [copy held]

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/should-wales-international-cricket-team-6233035

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/should-wales-international-cricket-team-6233035

http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/413212.html

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Minister+urges+Test+team+for+Wales%3B+CRICKET%3A+Call+follows...-a087775239

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Minister+urges+Test+team+for+Wales%3B+CRICKET%3A+Call+follows...-a087775239

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/story/0,3604,490322,00.html

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/call-wales-cricket-team-2151211

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McEvoy, Neil. Councillor, Plaid Cymru. 15 July 2015 [copy held]

Rees, Sean. Campaign manager, Plaid Cymru. 4 July 2015 [copy held]

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Appendices

Appendix A: Interview with Sean Rees, Campaign Manager, Plaid

Cymru, Llanelli, conducted on July 4th, 2015

Q. What kind of benefits would a Wales national cricket team provide?

A. I think the potential is huge. The exposure a Wales national cricket team might get in the future is massive.

Q. What do you think needs to be the way forward to see the fruition of an independent Welsh cricket team?

A. I believe all the interested parties in the matter must sit down and renegotiate the terms through which we can see a Wales national cricket team. There needs to be a detailed feasibility study for establishing a Welsh cricket team.

Appendix B: Interview with Neil McEvoy, Plaid Cymru Councillor and

prospective Cardiff West candidate, conducted on July 15th, 2015

Q. What are your thoughts on the current cricketing establishment in Wales?

A. I feel it‟s a form of cultural imperialism, the ECB might call themselves the England and Wales Cricket Board, but in reality, it‟s only England. There‟s a massive lack of respect from English cricket towards Wales.

The attitudes of Cricket Wales are also very pro-English which is not a good thing.

But, it‟s high time we realize we‟re not English, we‟re Welsh.

Q. But hasn’t Glamorgan traditionally been considered a representative of Welsh cricket?

A. Glamorgan is a great county, but let‟s face it, it‟s NOT a Welsh cricket team.

Q. What kind of benefits might we see from a Welsh cricket team?

A. A Welsh cricket team would see a lot more people in Wales take interest in the game. We have a lot of ethnic minorities from South Asia and cricket is massive there. We might see a lot of ethnic minorities would start taking interest in the game.

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Appendix C: Interview with Mark Frost, former Glamorgan player and

director of Cricket Wales and current Glamorgan coach, conducted on

July 16th, 2015

Q. What are your thoughts on the establishment of a Welsh cricket team?

A. It‟s a fundamental question of what kind of ambition does Wales have towards cricket? Because if the ambition is to play at the highest level, then automatically, you can‟t think about a Welsh independent cricket team.

A player‟s ambition is to aspire to play at the highest level. Someone who‟s playing for Glamorgan can hypothetically aspire to play for England one day at the Test level. But not only that, they get to hone their skill levels, week in and week out at the County Championship. Tell me, why should players give up the chance of playing at the highest level?

Q. What is your response to all the emotional arguments made by those who advocate a Welsh national cricket team?

A. I can understand where the demand comes from emotionally, but look at it financially. Economically, it‟s just not feasible. Any project for a Welsh cricket team would require massive public funding. Where would the funding come from? The SWALEC Stadium could be renovated mainly because of the funding Glamorgan receives from the ECB and for also the fact that it can stage international games and get revenue. If Wales forms an independent team, Glamorgan might have to leave the County Championship. What happens to the SWALEC Stadium then? Where do Welsh cricketers play cricket?

Q. However, the demand does come up intermittently. Why do you think that is the case?

A. I believe this topic only comes during periods of time when there is no Welsh representation in the English cricket team. When Robert Croft and Simon Jones were playing for England, you never really heard of calls for a Welsh cricket team then.

Q. Was this ever a topic of conversation during your playing days at Glamorgan?

A. No, not really, Never in my time when I was playing. It‟s never been hot topic for Welsh players because they want to play at the highest level and they get that through Glamorgan. For most Welsh players, playing for Glamorgan is like playing for Wales while playing for England is like playing for Britain.

Q. Finally, what would be your closing statement for this interview?

A. I think the cons of going for an independent Welsh cricket team completely outweigh the pros.

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Appendix D: Interview with John Derrick, Performance Manager of

Cricket Wales, conducted on July 16th, 2015

Q. Do you think Wales would be able to compete with other internationals team in cricket if they decided to have their own independent cricket team?

A. I don‟t think we‟ve got the setup or infrastructure in Wales to try for a Welsh team, quite frankly. We‟re not good enough to compete at the highest level, I‟m afraid. We might be able to compete with some of the Associate nations but nothing beyond that.

Q. What response would you give to comments that there’s not enough feeling for Wales in the current Welsh set-up due to there not being a Welsh cricket team?

A. That‟s absolutely rubbish. I am associated with many age-group cricket teams and if you go to any of them and question them about Wales, believe me, they‟d have a lot to say! There‟s a very strong feeling for Wales in our setup.

Q. How important is international cricket at the SWALEC Stadium?

A. International cricket at the SWALEC Stadium is very important for the growth of the game in Wales. It is essential that it continues.

Q. Do you believe the cricketing public in Wales are supportive of the way things are currently, with Wales being a part of the England and Wales Cricket Board?

A. The cricketing public in Wales are realistic. Financially, we have to survive and they realize that.

Appendix E: Interview with Matthew Ford, runs a social media campaign for a Welsh cricket team, conducted on July 18th, 2015

Q. What would be your response to comments that it is not economically sustainable to have an independent Welsh cricket team?

A. There is international funding available from the ICC. A look at the recent article published in The Economist proves that. Look, we can‟t just rely on potentially hosting a few England matches every season for revenue. If we form our own team, we‟ll at least be guaranteed some games.

Q. Would Wales be able to host international games if they had their own independent cricket team?

A. Most teams who come on tours to England play against Ireland or Scotland. But if Wales forms its own team, we‟ll be in a far better place. Cardiff is far closer to England than Ireland or Scotland and with similar conditions, so international touring teams would rather play here.

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Q. Would Glamorgan be able to continue in the English County Championship in the event of Wales forming their own cricket team?

A. I don‟t see why not. There‟s always been a precedent in history of Welsh clubs playing in English sporting leagues and why not. Of course, the biggest example is Swansea and Cardiff City playing in the English football league with Wales having its own football team.

It would be very spiteful for the ECB to chuck Glamorgan out, if Wales forms its own team. Especially when you consider that Glamorgan are among the oldest stakeholders of its County Championship, having being around since the 1920‟s.

Q. One of the major arguments against a Welsh cricket team is that international cricket would disappear from the SWALEC Stadium. Hence, the Welsh cricketing public who are used to seeing high-profile events like the Ashes would be left with maybe seeing Wales play against the Associate nations. What do you make of that?

A. But isn‟t that better than watching maybe a couple of England games every summer. In any case, people from Wales aren‟t watching cricket...60 percent of the crowd at the last Ashes Test were from outside Wales.

I genuinely don‟t buy the arguments that matches against the Associate nations would be less worthy. The Associate nations are worthy opponents and I‟d rather watch them than England against Australia.

Q. How do you look at the issue from a players’ perspective? What if some players in Wales want to continue playing for England, since they have the chance of playing Test cricket?

A. England may be a draw for certain Welsh cricket players. But not for all. They would at least get a chance to choose between England and Wales, which they don‟t get now.

Q. You’ve been running a campaign for a Welsh cricket team for a long time now. Tell us about your campaign?

A. It‟s a slow process...it started in earnest in 2011 with the petition...then Plaid Cymru has made it part of their manifesto. The momentum is slowly increasing and people are now questioning what‟s happening. It‟s more of a grassroots campaign, but there is more to come...it‟s a sort of slow burn. We‟re hopeful that there‟ll be more people coming out for this in the future.

Q. Finally, what would be your parting statement about the issue?

A. Look at football. There was the same argument about football...about how some of Wales‟ greatest football players could never play at the highest levels because Wales were never good at the sport. But look at them now, they‟re doing so well. They might even qualify for the World Cup. We should take a leaf out of football‟s book.

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Appendix F: Interview with Gareth Griffiths, sports journalist for

Media Wales, conducted on 23rd August, 2015

Q. What are your views on the topic of Wales having an independent cricket team?

A. There would be a need to realistically look at the funding to see if things could work out. For those advocating a Welsh cricket team, I would be interested to know if they have a plan in place on how they intend to fund an independent Welsh cricket team.

Q. As a journalist, have you seen a prevailing sentiment among Welsh people for an independent national team?

A. No, not really. It seems to be more of a populist move. The general consensus is that Glamorgan is the Welsh representative on the international stage – and people tend to get behind them.

Appendix G: Interview with Andrew Hignell, chief historian and

archivist at Glamorgan Cricket Club, conducted on 27th July, 2015

Q. Wales did participate in an ICC Trophy in 1979. Isn’t that strong evidence for the fact that Wales have often had representation in international cricket?

A. Well, you have to remember that Wales only participated in the 1979 tournament as it was held in the British Isles and a team had declined to participate. It was just easier for them to get Wales to play.

Q. What were the characteristics of the early history of cricket in Wales?

A. Most of the participants of the game were from the gentry class – individuals who had moved to England for education, learnt the game over there and brought it back. Cricket games at that time were more a tool for socializing and meeting individuals from a similar class.

Q. There was the creation of a Welsh Cricket Union in 1923. What happened in the next years?

A. Yes, a Welsh Cricket Union was created in 1923 and there was a long-term goal to create a Wales cricket team. However, Glamorgan acquired a larger Welsh identity which led to a dying down of the call for a Welsh team.

Q. What is your answer to calls to people who demand an independent Welsh cricket team?

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A. My answer is simple. Wales already has a cricket team – that‟s Glamorgan. Robert Croft put it exactly the right way. He said, when I play for Glamorgan, I feel I play for Wales. When I play for England, I feel I play for Britain.

Q. What would be the repercussions if Cricket Wales decided to take Associate membership from the International Cricket Council?

A. It would be disastrous. Look at this - [gestures to indoor cricket nets where some schoolboys are participating] Can you imagine what could happen if Cricket Wales decided to take Associate membership from the ICC? This would all disappear. What would happen to the SWALEC Stadium?

Appendix H: Email interview with Bethan Jenkins, Plaid Cymru

spokesperson for sport, received on 11th August, 2015

Q. The biggest issue seems to be the economics of it. Cricket Wales and Glamorgan say that a Wales national team would lead to the ejection of Glamorgan from the County Championship, the stripping-down of SWALEC Stadium as an international venue, the loss of all ECB funding...basically pushing the future of Welsh cricket in jeopardy. What is your take regarding the economics? Would Plaid Cymru actively fund a Welsh cricket team? If there is a loss of ECB funding as well as the loss of revenue from games at the SWALEC, where would the money come from? A. I don't buy this apocalyptic argument that Cricket Wales and - more so - Glamorgan is making. Both find themselves in such a precarious position because they have bid for and won Ashes tests for Sophia Gardens. This is a good thing, but they would be the first to admit that they over-extended themselves financially to make that happen. So a lot of the opposition to a Welsh team comes from a fear of not being under England's protective financial wing.

However, we're saying it doesn't have to be that way. We're looking to what has happened with the game in Ireland as our model. If Wales were to stand alone, it would be able to draw down funding from a number of development pots created by the International Cricket Council. It would also be able to host one-day internationals and tests at Sophia Gardens involving other countries, and create revenue that way. We also believe that Welsh interest in the game would rise if we have a national team. We already have highly successful football and rugby sides, so there's nothing to stop the same happening with cricket. We think this is a very forward-looking proposal that will be good for the sport in Wales in the long-term.

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Appendix I, Cricket Wales’ response in October 2011 to petition

demanding Welsh national cricket team

Abigail Phillips

Clerk to the Petitions Committee

The National Assembly for Wales

Cardiff Bay

Cardiff CF99 1NA

11th November 2011

Dear Ms Phillips

RE: THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A WELSH INTERNATIONAL CRICKET TEAM

Cricket Wales is the national governing body for junior and senior recreational cricket in Wales and is recognised as such by Sport Wales and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). 230 clubs, leagues and associations from across the length and breadth of Wales are affiliated to Cricket Wales.

The following views are provided by Cricket Wales in response to the questions raised in the petition relating to the establishment of a Welsh International Cricket Team.

1 Do you feel that the action called for is reasonable and/or feasible?

The action called for is neither reasonable nor feasible. Cricket Wales chooses to affiliate to the ECB rather than the International Cricket Council (ICC), for very good reasons. These include:

- It provides the opportunity for eleven Welsh age group teams (from U11 boys to a senior Welsh women‟s team), to play over 150 games of representative cricket of an excellent standard against English County Boards, each summer (see fixtures attached). This programme develops our most talented young

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cricketers. If we were in membership of the ICC rather than the ECB then we would only be able to play a limited number of fixtures against the likes of Ireland, Scotland and the Netherlands who are not as strong as teams like Yorkshire, Lancashire and Warwickshire. Women‟s and girls‟ fixtures would be even more adversely affected.

- The ECB provides Cricket Wales with funding to play the above games and to undertake many other initiatives that enable the sport to develop in Wales. This funding is used to strengthen cricket within communities throughout Wales including projects for seniors, juniors, boys, girls and those with a disability. Through this funding over many years (and that provided by Sport Wales), cricket plays an important role in Welsh communities.

- Recently Cricket Wales has secured enhanced funding from the ECB‟s Cricket Foundation and Chance to Shine programme, which will enable a part-time Community Coach to be appointed in every Local Authority in Wales. This funding has been matched by Sport Wales with the long term target being to double the number of junior club teams by 2020. This initiative would not be possible if Cricket Wales were part of the ICC.

- Cricket Wales is part of the ECB‟s coach education programme which is world-leading amongst cricket nations. The ICC coach education programme is at a more developmental stage.

- Being part of an England and Wales body provides Cricket Wales with the opportunity to gain expertise and support in other specialist areas which would be far more difficult to deliver if we were a stand-alone cricket nation. Complex areas such as the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and facility development fall into this category.

2 Is there evidence to support the assertion that the current arrangements mean that Welsh cricketers do not have access to the same opportunities as cricketers from other UK nations?

No. In fact, Welsh cricketers have the opportunity to play professional cricket week-in-week-out for Glamorgan County Cricket Club and to play Test, One-Day-International and Twenty20 cricket for England. If cricketers from Ireland/Scotland are good enough to play for England then they are not allowed to play for Ireland/Scotland at the same time. Recent examples include Ed Joyce and Eoin Morgan. Most Scottish and Irish players are semi-professional cricketers who week-in-week out, play at a lower standard than county cricketers such as those who play for Glamorgan County Cricket Club. The high-profile ICC Cricket World Cup only takes place every four years. If Cricket Wales was to join the ICC instead of the ECB then the most talented Welsh cricketers would seek to join English Counties so as to be eligible for England. It would therefore be extremely difficult for Wales to develop a strong team.

3 What are the barriers to establishing a Welsh international cricket team?

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The formation of a Welsh international cricket team would require Cricket Wales to affiliate to the ICC rather than the ECB. All of the benefits outlined in response to question 1 would be lost to a greater or lesser extent. Even if funding was available from the ICC (instead of the ECB), that funding would not go very far as most age-group and senior fixtures would involve international travel. A Welsh international cricket team would lead to the demise of Glamorgan County Cricket Club since over time they would almost certainly lose funding from the ECB, not be allowed to enter ECB County events and not be given the opportunity to host England international matches at the SWALEC Stadium. All young Welsh cricketers represent Wales at age-group level with the goal of one day playing for Glamorgan and England. The loss of Wales‟ professional cricket team (Glamorgan) would have a devastating effect on the health of the game in Wales.

4 Should the ECB team play home games in Wales? What are the arguments for and against this?

Yes, the ECB should play home games in the new SWALEC Stadium since it provides great profile for cricket in Wales and also vital income to Glamorgan County Cricket Club and the local economy. Everyone involved in cricket in Wales has the opportunity to be inspired by live cricket of the highest possible standard. Cricket Wales played an important role in helping Glamorgan Cricket secure a 2015 England Ashes test match at the SWALEC Stadium, through the joint development of an ambitious plan for the future of the game in Wales. England should play home games in Cardiff because it is an „England and Wales‟ team. The Welsh flag was flown at the last Ashes Test Match in Cardiff. It is perhaps a case for the England and Wales Cricket Board to be renamed „Cricket England and Wales‟ with the acronym changing from the ECB to CEW. It is understandable that there will be calls for a Welsh international cricket team but the creation of such a team would have an enormously detrimental impact on the sport in Wales. Should representation from Cricket Wales be required to further explain the above points, then I will gladly make myself available. Yours sincerely Peter Hybart Director of Cricket

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Appendix J, Response to the Petitions Committee Call for Evidence

on the Establishment of a Welsh Cricket Team from Simon Jones,

Public Affairs Manager, Sport Wales, Dated: 16/11/2011

Sport Wales is the national organisation responsible for developing and promoting sport and physical activity in Wales. We are the main adviser on sporting matters to the Welsh Government and are responsible for distributing National Lottery funds to both elite and grassroots sport in Wales. We aim to not only improve the level of sports participation at grassroots level but also provide our aspiring athletes with the support required to compete successfully on the world stage

1. Do you feel that the action called for is reasonable and/or feasible? We would like to take this opportunity to emphasise that the establishment of a Wales cricket team and the decision to take membership of the ICC rather than the ECB is a matter for the governing body of cricket, Cricket Wales, and we would be supportive of their decision on this matter. Any discussion around this issue would need to be framed by what is best for cricket in Wales on both a participation and elite level. Recently the Cricket Board of Wales and the Welsh Cricket Association merged to form a single governing body that oversees both the junior and adult recreational game in Wales. We welcomed this decision to provide more joined up governance for the game in Wales and are continuing to work with the new governing body, Cricket Wales, to develop the game further. In 2011/12 Sport Wales has provided over £550,000 of funding to Cricket Wales for this purpose. The grant we provide is also supplemented by funding directly from the ECB, which is outlined in the response to the committee made by Cricket Wales. The governing body has also been working to continue to develop a close working relationship with Glamorgan CC, which represents the professional game in Wales. We have been very pleased with how both agencies have worked together to ensure that there is a joined up pathway for those wanting to play cricket in Wales. At present both Cricket Wales and Glamorgan CC are of the view that the establishment of a Welsh cricket team would not be in the long term benefit for the growth of the game in Wales and we support this position. 2. Is there evidence to support the assertion that the current arrangements mean that Welsh cricketers do not have access to the same opportunities as cricketers from other UK nations? We do not believe that this is currently the case, as talented cricketers are supported by both Cricket Wales and eventually Glamorgan CC if they reach that standard. We recognise the wider issue with regard to the England & Wales cricket team being referred to exclusively as “England” and the acronym for the England and Wales Cricket Board being the ECB, does lead to the perception that Wales is overlooked. In fact

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Wales has a strong history of providing players to the international side and currently both James Harris and Tom Maynard, both of whom are products of the Glamorgan Academy, are in the England development squad with aspirations of making the senior side. We would be concerned if the establishment of an independent Wales team would see Glamorgan alienated from the County Championship. There is every chance that this could result in Welsh professionals opting to play for English counties resulting in a dip in focus and standards in Wales. 3. What are the barriers to establishing a Welsh international cricket team? For Wales to have representative teams of its own, it would have to break with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and become affiliated to the International Cricket Board (ICC) instead. This would have significant funding implications for Glamorgan CCC and Cricket Wales who collectively receive up to £2 million funding per annum from the ECB. If Wales was ratified as an associate member of the ICC it may expect to receive a significantly smaller grant. The reduction of funding would undoubtedly have a significant negative impact on both the professional and recreational game in Wales The quality and regularity of competition that a representative Wales international team would be exposed to would be significantly inferior to the standard of competition enjoyed by Glamorgan in the County Championships. Wales would start at the bottom rung of the international cricket ladder and it may be some time before they achieved test / one day international status. Other small cricketing nations (e.g. Ireland and Scotland) are thought to struggle for meaningful, appropriate competition between major events (i.e. the Cricket World Cup). 4. Should the ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board) team play home games in Wales? What are the arguments for and against this? They do. There was an ashes test at the SWALEC stadium in 2009 and it has recently been announced that a further ashes test will be held here in 2015. The bid for the 2015 Ashes Test included an ambitious plan for the future of the game in Wales to ensure that a sporting legacy remains following the game. Further to these test matches, one day internationals and twenty-twenty matches against other nations have also been held in Cardiff, all helping to boost the profile of cricket in Wales. If Wales were to become an independent cricket nation then such matches are highly unlikely to be held in Cardiff.

Simon Jones

Public Affairs Manager

Sport Wales

Documents

Dissertation- Should Wales have its own independent cricket team- Angikaar Choudhury