From Azeem to ashesjay

From Azeem to Ashes charts the last miserable days of Joe Root s captaincy in early 2022 through to the T20 World Cup victory before the breathless Bazball Ashes finale at the Oval It s a book written for cricket lovers by a cricket lover with voices from clubs the boardroom and the commentary box September 2020 cricket is in the headlines for the first time since the 2005 Ashes But the focus is racism not runs or wickets Azeem Rafiq s treatment has ignited fierce debate about prejudice and class The book never ducks uncomfortable questions posed by the Rafiq affair Why do England s cricket teams men s and women s look so unlike the nation they represent How can grassroots participation be developed and preserved In the franchise driven global circus of modern cricket what place is there for Tests or even 50 over games From Azeem to Ashes takes a hard nosed but affectionate and humorous look at cricket It s a book written for those who want to protect its future From Azeem to Ashes English Cricket s Struggle with Race and ClassI don t think the style of the writing is personally for me but has some interesting tidbits 231