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LONDON: Racism at the grass root of English cricket does exist, admits Matthew Engel, the editor of 'Wisden', the bible of the game as it is known. Engel courageously writes about it in the editorial notes of the 136th edition that was launched at the prestigious East India Club at a dinner which was attended by nearly hundred guests and included luminaries like Colin Cowdrey, now Lord Cowdrey, Derek Underwood, Tony Lewis, now the president of the MCC and many more former cricketers and writers on the game and the guest speaker Lord Taylor of Warwick whose father Derryf Taylor, a West Indian coached Warwickshire county for 30 years.

Engel candidly condemned an informal 'apartheid' at club level and named two leading counties like Yorkshire and Essex as the main culprits. Some local clubs in those counties, he also writes in his editorial notes are being 'passively racist'. 'In an unspoken, very English way, cricketing apartheid has become accepted practice in England.'

'It has become normal for ethnic minority players to gravitate towards their own clubs, and there is now clear cut evidence of segregation operating, informally, in both Yorkshire and Essex.' Writes Engel.

Adding that there is a 'refusal to go the extra inch and welcome outsiders into a club's often clannish atmosphere', the impact of this, Engel says, is that many people from the ethnic minorities are kept out. Whites on the other hand regard Pakistanis in particular, as standoffish (aloof) because so few of them drink. Black and Asian players are operating outside the official structure. They have become second class in all kinds of little ways.' Engel points out.

``Every week in summer,'' 'The Yorkshire Post', reports the score from about 50 leagues around the county, but the Bradford based Quaid-e-Azam league is not one of them.' The paper's spokesman says, the result of the league is not sent to us in time for Monday's report.'

Chris Hassell, the chief executive of the Yorkshire county reacting to Engel's attack in Wisden, says, 'Engel's claim of racism is rubbish. There is only one criteria and that is ability, if players have the necessary ability then it does not matter if they are black, blue, green or yellow', he says. 'We are positively and actively working with ethnic communities. We would vigorously refute Wisden's allegations.

Lord Taylor, a barrister in his speech at the Wisden annual dinner said that, 'it was in cricket's own interest to be more inconclusive, because they brought character into the game, while too few players from ethnic minorities were coming through into the England team.' The English Cricket Board (ECB) challenging Engel's suggestion of racism and said, ``While we would never seek to be complacent about the dangers of racism, current evidence does not suggest that a system of discrimination operates within the game.''

Criticising the ICC and its president Mr Jagmohan Dalmiya, Engel demands the resignation of Dalmiya for ignoring the match fixing and bribery scandal which he describes as the worst crisis to hit the game since the Bodyline controversy. Writes Engel, ``Dalmiya almost split world cricket trying to take charge of ICC. Having succeeded he has given the game no leadership whatever. He should resign and be replaced by someone capable of providing that leadership.''

Mark Taylor, the former Australian captain has been praised in the editor's note for his solid contribution to the revival of Australian cricket. ``No captain since Mike Brearley has left the game with a higher reputation.'' Says Engel.

The five Wisden cricketers of the year are Darren Gough, Ian Austin, Jonty Rhodes, Arjuna Ranatunga and Muttiah Muralitharan.