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Cricket's Afro-Caribbean challenge: why aren't more young Britons playing?

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Charles Colvile visits south London to investigate why fewer people of Afro-Caribbean heritage are playing and watching cricket

It is not just the West Indian side that has been struggling in recent years.

Twenty or 30 years ago, players and spectators of Afro-Caribbean heritage were a key part of the cricket scene in the United Kingdom. But not anymore, it would seem.

Charles Colvile has been to south London to find out why.

Click on the video above to see Colvile speak to players, past and present, on the matter including former England Test all-rounder Alex Tudor and his brother Ray, who explained that other sports are drawing talented youngsters away from cricket.

"We have a lot of English-born West Indians in schools who are very good at cricket but they will always choose football - that's our kind of rivalry," he said.

Lonsdale Skinner, chairman of the African Caribbean Cricket Association, added: "There are more men of Afro-Caribbean descent playing rugby for England than cricket for England. That says something about the organisation of cricket."

In the video, Colvile explores why cricket is no longer the choice for young black Britons.

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Matt Dwyer, director of Participation & Growth, explains how the England and Wales Cricket Board is trying to attract as many people as possible to the game

Matt Dwyer, the ECB's director of participation and growth explains how they are trying to attract as many people from all backgrounds as possible to the game.

"Accessibility to facilities for kids is an important part of it and over the last 12 months we've really focussed on opportunities for kids to play.

"We've doubled our investment in our partnership with Chance to Shine and in the next school year we'll give 500,000 kids the opportunity to get involved.

"To complement that we've rolled out All Stars Cricket, which is the national entry-level programme for kids aged five to eight, and that's about creating outstanding experiences for them and their parents."

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