Nothing feels like the start of summer quite so much as the first outdoor juniors session. Energetic young pups bound across the freshly mowed outfield, dusting off their long barriers after a winter spent hibernating in sports halls; the possibilities, even just for a moment, seem limitless.

At any of Liverpool’s five Love Lane Liverpool Competition clubs, the makeup of the group is much the same – a comparatively high proportion of junior players are drawn from the city’s South Asian population.

Liverpool has never seen mass migration from the Subcontinent on the scale of its historic Chinese and Black communities. Urban areas of comparable size, such as Sheffield, Manchester, Bradford and Kirklees, all have much larger Asian communities, comprising as much as 75% of the population in some neighbourhoods.

But still, according to the 2021 census, about one in 25 Liverpudlians traces their roots to Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Afghanistan or Sri Lanka. Most are clustered around the southern central suburbs – most are within the catchment area of at least one of Sefton Park, Liverpool, Wavertree, Old Xaverians and Alder.

Not surprisingly, families with origins in a cricket-mad country are more likely to produce cricket-mad children. Hence the turnout at nets.

But cricket-mad children eventually turn into cricket-mad adults. 

So… where are they all?

People are welcoming – but are we being truly inclusive?

Bharat Grover

Broadly speaking, across the Comp’s first XIs, you’re nearly as likely to see an Asian professional cricketer as you are a British Asian amateur.

There are a handful of exceptions – some homegrown, some imported from elsewhere in Lancashire – but it’s a trend which is hard to ignore once you’ve spotted it.

Teenage drop-off is a problem for all clubs, regardless of ethnicity. But something is preventing young Asian cricketers from making the move to adult league cricket.

Bharat Grover was born in Delhi and came to Europe for work, winding up first in Wigan, where he turned out for Norley Hall, then later in Liverpool, where he joined Wavertree. 

In his experience, players from Liverpool’s Asian communities tend to gravitate towards each other, and this tends to lead them away from Saturday league cricket.

He said: “I think if you look at the number of British Asian cricketers in Liverpool, and ask is that proportionate to numbers reflected in 1s and 2s across the Liverpool Comp… my gut instinct and my playing experience tells me no. 

“I’ve made friends for life at Wavertree and I feel almost like an adopted Scouser, having been there for so long. 

“But I think for other people there might be a perception that the established clubs have these special processes of vetting, you need to have your full kit before you can turn up and play … they see from the outside and think it looks like an established scene, I wouldn’t get in. 

“So I think even before you go knock on the door, there might be these perceptions for a South Asian player, and that’s why they might rather find somebody else from their own community.”

Grover is keen to stress his experiences at Comp clubs have been universally positive. He’s never felt unwelcome. But he recognises there are structural factors which could be off-putting to some. 

A pervasive drinking culture is one obvious example of why someone particularly from a Muslim background might feel wary. The communal post-match shower, a staple of the English sporting experience from high school onwards, is another – taboos surrounding nudity play out differently across different cultures.

There’s nothing deliberate at play – players have a wash then have a pint, because why wouldn’t they – but it’s an example of the sort of thing clubs need to think about if they want to become more inclusive, and tap into a rich seam of cricketing talent.

Grover added: “There is a big culture of getting together and having a drink, which is fine. I have no issues with it. 

“But sometimes, somebody who’s culturally not from that environment, they might see these pre-established social practices as a requirement to fit in, and it can be daunting sometimes if you don’t know many people. 

“People are welcoming – but are we being truly inclusive?

“Maybe we need to take that first step because that person is in our environment, we are used to this but this person is new here.

“There’s got to be more that we can do to tap into that incredible pool of talent.

“I’m a firm believer that the more diversity of thoughts and ideas you have, the better you become as an organisation.”

Grover says he sees “green shoots of hope” at junior level – perhaps, as the city’s Asian community becomes more established and reaches its second, third, fourth generations, people will see fewer barriers.

It’s natural for any cricketer to want to see someone like them playing further up.

Raheem Kasser

Leg-spinner Raheem Kasser came from Accrington to play for Sefton Park in 2021. He found a warm welcome at the club and in the league in general, but he agrees that an invisible barrier might exist at the institutional level.

He made the move on the recommendation of Karl Brown, now Leigh captain but at the time Kasser’s skipper in the Lancashire League, who sold the Comp as the best place for a young spinner to ply his trade.

But without a personal connection, getting a foot in the door at one of the established clubs can seem a daunting task.

Kasser said: “The thing about the Liverpool Comp is that from the outside, it seems like such a huge league, it’s almost kind of ‘invitation only’. Like you have to be performing in other leagues to get a club to approach you.

“My friends in the Lancashire League, I don’t think many of them would say ‘I’m going to try to play for a Liverpool Comp club’ – they might think ‘if I keep doing well, they might come to me’.

“So many good South Asian players in the Lancashire League perform really well, but they don’t seem to ever come into the Liverpool Comp, even though I’m sure they’d perform really well.

“Without Karl suggesting it, I would have never even thought of it – it’s like you have to know somebody. So if there’s a barrier, it’s not intentional.”

In cities such as Bradford and Birmingham, clubs and whole leagues are dominated by Asian players – good news if you’re a talent spotter looking to guide the next Adil Rashid or Moeen Ali on to the pathway, less good in terms of harnessing sport’s power to bring people together.

“A lot of South Asians, especially ones who are new to the country, will generally feel more comfortable in a team where they’ve got six or seven of their friends,” added Kasser, who is returning to the Premier Division with Wigan this summer.

“Even if they’re good enough, they might be a bit apprehensive about going to a club where they can’t see three or four Pakistani or Indian or Bangladeshi players. 

“When I was at Accrington, I used to see Asian lads playing in the 1st or 2nd XI when I was young, and I could see that progression.

“It’s natural for any cricketer to want to see someone like them playing further up. If they’re looking through the Liverpool Comp scorecards and not seeing any Asian names, maybe they’ll think it’s the kind of league where you’ve got to know each other and be quite tight-knit together.

“The players are so welcoming, I’ve never experienced any reason to suggest why you wouldn’t feel comfortable. Maybe once it gets to the stage where there’s four or five Asian players at a club, more will follow.”

What we’ve done is to say we’re not going to split you up; feel free to play together.

Darren Leader

Look beyond the Comp’s old guard and it’s clear there are clubs in Liverpool which attract players from South Asian backgrounds.

Merseyside Commonwealth Conference won the Southport & District League last year but didn’t stand a chance of promotion to the Comp without a ground to call their own. South Liverpool and Merseyside Sports & Cultural Club excelled last year in the Comp’s 3rd XI divisions, but both lack the facilities to take the next step.

In an era when “simply build yourselves a cricket ground” is possibly less viable than at any time in history, this does give the impression of a bit of a closed shop.

The community’s enthusiasm and love for the game is clearly there – it’s just that it doesn’t, or isn’t allowed to, translate to the formality of Saturday league cricket.

Then there’s Newsham Park. They play on a matting wicket dropped in the middle of an undulating field, without a pavilion, changing rooms or indeed any outward sign of being a cricket pitch.

And their secretary, Darren Leader, has around 250 names in his club database.

“We can’t have everyone in a WhatsApp group,” he laughed. “That would just be unsustainable.

“They’re from all different backgrounds. We’ve got a good few hundred who are Indian, Sri Lankan, Afghan and Pakistani.

“We’re entirely inclusive, everybody’s welcome, we try to get everybody involved.

“Also we acknowledge what our club is. When it comes to match fees and membership costs, we try to keep that as low-cost as possible, which makes it more inclusive for people.”

Newsham do things differently. Instead of having 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th XIs based on ability, they let the players form their own sides based on friendship groups and connections.

Leader said: “We’re not doing the traditional cricket way of doing things.

“We had a group of four friends come to nets on Thursday. All very eager.

“Two of them looked handy batters; one got involved and knew how to hold a bat; the other one was a lot more inexperienced. 

“You put them into an established club, they’re all going into different teams and they’re not playing together.

“Whereas what we’ve done is to say we’re not going to split you up; feel free to play together.

“They’re all members through the club but they get to play with the people they want to play with, their friends.”

The upshot is as many as eight sides playing under the Newsham Park umbrella, who play each other for the Newsham Park Cup every year as well as friendlies, midweek T20s in the Liverpool Business Houses League and hugely popular Last Man Stands competitions.

One of them, Liverpool Superkings, entered a side in the Comp’s 3rd XI Saturday league last year and won the First Division title, going unbeaten all season. 

“The sense I get is that everyone’s really enjoying it,” said Leader. “But then if they do want to break in and take cricket a bit more seriously, then they can.

“Superkings are playing in the Comp, whereas some of our other teams like the Challengers are very much leaning towards the Last Man Stands stuff.

“In some of the teams, a lot of people have work commitments on a Saturday, so getting an XI would be impossible. They like the sociable aspect of it.

“But for the lads who want to take it a bit more seriously, I will point people in the right direction.”

So maybe the formalities of Saturday league cricket aren’t to everyone’s taste. Newer migrant communities, such as recent arrivals from Afghanistan, are often forced into the gig economy – spending all Saturday out of action, and paying for the privilege, simply isn’t an option.

Leader added: “A lot of the guys we’ve had involved do takeaway deliveries or taxi driving. 

“So come 5pm on a Saturday, they’re starting a shift. They’d either have to leave early, which some clubs might accommodate at the 4th or 5th team level, but not from a player with more ability, they wouldn’t get a look-in at 1st or 2nd team level.

“In the Business Houses league, there’s midweek games so people can plan their work hours around them.”

Leader is also keen to keep the cost of playing down – easier said than done for clubs with facilities to maintain and staff to pay, but another reason Newsham Park attracts so many casual cricketers.

He said: “It’s about opening doors and making sure there are the right opportunities. One of the things we brought in was to do membership in instalments, so we’d add £5 to match fees until the membership was paid.

“At some clubs, even during the pandemic year, you had to pay all your membership at once or you wouldn’t play.

“A lot of the Afghan lads come over with nothing. Every match that we go along to, we bring along bats, pads, gloves – because there are a lot of players without gear.

“It’s about being inclusive and giving people a chance.”

Grover agrees. “We need to think about how we can reach more people in our local communities and tap into that resource.

“You only need to look at Last Man Stands being played in Liverpool – I would argue that 80% of the participants in LMS are from Afghan, Pakistani, Indian and Sri Lankan origin.

“It’s absolutely thriving, but I don’t see the numbers reflected in Saturday league cricket.

“We need to reach out – to everyone, but especially to the Asian community.

“There’s so many benefits to be had, but I wish we could do more and tap into that community we have on our doorstep.”

As long as people are playing and enjoying cricket, then cricket is doing its job. There’s more to life than the top end of the Comp (a sentence your correspondent could do with writing on a blackboard, Bart Simpson-style).

But winning does matter. And when it comes to competition, the city’s clubs are being out-competed. 

Sefton Park’s difficult 2021 was the only season any of the five have spent in the Premier Division in 15 years – Liverpool CC’s fifth place in Division One was enough to earn them 2022’s bragging rights.

For the clubs, greater involvement from a growing and enthusiastic population of cricket lovers would benefit them on and off the field.

And for the players themselves, who might dream of a future in cricket, access to the Comp is essential.

There isn’t an obvious solution, or someone would have done it – the Newsham Park model has proved incredibly successful at getting people involved in the game, but wouldn’t be sustainable for an established club with overheads and expectations to meet.

If the clubs can find a middle ground – reach out to the community to let them know their doors are open, and make it clear how welcoming the cricket family can be – then everyone could be a winner.