'Cricket in England is held back by its own mythology' - interview with author Duncan Stone

81 All Out - A Cricket Podcast

In the latest episode we talk to historian and author Duncan Stone about his recent book 'Different Class: The Untold Story of English Cricket'. The conversation delves into the nebulous 'Spirit of the Game' and how it is emblematic of the fetishization of English cricket - which has turned a people's game into a seemingly noble pursuit accessible mostly to a privileged class.

You can order the book here.

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Talking Points:

• The Spirit of the Game and why English cricket is its own enemy
• The pivotal decision to take cricket off free-to-air television in 2005
• What the Azeem Rafiq revelations teach us
• Outlawing of competitive cricket in the south of England for several years in the early 1900s

Participants:

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee); Duncan Stone (@StoneDunk)

Books discussed:

Anyone But England - Mike Marqusee; Beyond A Boundary - CLR James; Willow Wand - Derek Birley; Rowland Bowen's history of cricket;

Related:

English cricket has always been a people's game, but that's not what the elitists will have you believe - Duncan Stone - ESPNcricinfo; The class and culture war at the heart of English cricket - David Hopps - ESPNcricinfo; ECB's South Asian Action Plan fell short - Duncan Stone - The Cricketer; Law (19.8) and Order - 81allout podcast discussing the 2019 World Cup final; The toxic side to the Australian way - 81allout podcast with Jarrod Kimber; Why is there stigma involved in running out a non-striker? Because it's all about power - Sidharth Monga - ESPNcricinfo; Spirit of Cricket & the Mankad - Pakistan Cricket Podcast;