One of the reasons that cricket is being introduced into the primary sport curriculum in France is because of the ‘Spirit of Cricket’, but if we think about it, do we really want to promote all of the values associated with the ‘Spirit of Cricket’?

At face value, the answer to this question seems obvious, but what are the values of the ‘Spirit of the Cricket’?

The definition is vague, but it evokes in the minds of many a nostalgic sense of how the game used to be. To many it speaks of a time when walking was common place, sledging was something only hooligans and Australians indulged in and cricket was squarely a Commonwealth pass time.

This image is certainly very powerful, but is this seemingly rose tinted portrait of the game the vision which we want to spread?

The arguments in favour are obvious. The French Sport Ministry was seduced by the idea of ‘fair play’, and hopes that the spread of cricket (through its schools program and Street20) will lead to greater sports participation and social cohesion, particularly in urban areas.

Evidence from the MCC’s ‘Chance to Shine’ program suggests that the French Government has not been misled.

Even I would not dispute that the ‘Spirit of Cricket’ is an excellent way of selling the game to new markets. But there is a dark side to the ‘Spirit’.

I'm afraid that this article is about to get a bit confessional, but here goes: I am a walker. I always have been, and always will be. And I'm not one of those fair weather walkers; the type that will walk having made a score, but stubbornly hang around having feathered one on 0 (not least because the chances of me making a decent score are low). I have even walked for an LBW in a competitive game, to the dismay of my team-mates – but to be fair to me, the umpire was loading his finger and preparing to put me out of my misery.

Whether you think me naïve, or you applaud my honesty, you will doubtless be asking me how I can be a walker and yet be critical of the ‘Spirit of Cricket’? Is my behaviour not evidence of my support?

My problem with the ‘Spirit of Cricket’ actually lies in another moral quandary which grips the game from time to time, although mostly when Murali Kartik is playing. I am of course talking about ‘Mankading’ – the act of the bowler running out the non-striker before delivery.

‘Mankading’ sums up everything which is wrong with the ‘Spirit’ of the game. Every time there is an occurrence, Murali Kartik (and it is almost always Kartik) is lambasted by ‘experts’ of the game. All sorts of preposterous questions are asked about the situation, not least whether the batsman has received a warning about wandering carelessly out of his ground, as if bowlers should be polite enough as to warn the batsmen who is at best careless, and at worst (and most often) cheating, by stealing a few yards.

What is even more outrageous is the moral outrage from many members of the MCC (the self proclaimed protectors of the ‘Spirit’), as if the act of ‘Mankading’ is a mortal sin, whilst playing on Rebel Tours in the 1980s is a forgiveable (and occasionally a promotion worthy) trespass.
But I digress.

At last year’s ICC Europe Division 1 there was a ‘Mankading’, perpetrated by an Austrian bowler. The reaction to this was for the sponsors of the Austrian National Team to threaten to withdraw their support for Cricket Austria. Why? Because they believed the act to be against the ‘Spirit’, and they didn't want their company associated with such a heinous act.

Herein lies the problem. The ‘Spirit of Cricket’ is a vehicle for protecting all of the arcane traditions of cricket, whether justified or not. It is the tired gospel of a bygone era, what is of use must be kept, and its unjustified quirks discarded.

If cricket is to take hold in countries where it has little or no history, then it must not be seen as a gentile pastime, but rather as a competitive and modern sport. This realisation explains why T20 is the best vehicle for spreading the game. T20 is brash, explosive, fearsome, and importantly it makes no apologies for being so.

Please don’t misunderstand what I am saying here. I do not want to see the game I love lose the positive elements of the ‘Spirit’. These elements are a vital tool in selling the game to new markets. But it is imperative that cricket frees itself from the shackles of its image as the game of the English elite.

Failing to dispel the myth that cricket is the preserve of the upper echelons of the Commonwealth will see it remain a quaint oddity by most in the cricketing new world. And that will not do.