Cricket test
Encyclopedia
The cricket test or Tebbit test was a controversial phrase coined in April 1990 by the Conservative politician Norman Tebbit
in referring to the 'loyalty' or 'lack of loyalty' of immigrants and their children from certain parts of Asia and the Caribbean to the England
cricket team. Tebbit suggested that those immigrants who root for their native countries rather than Great Britain in sports might not be sufficiently loyal to their new country.
, said: "A large proportion of Britain's Asian population fail to pass the cricket
test. Which side do they cheer for? It's an interesting test. Are you still harking back to where you came from or where you are?"
Despite the possible confusion with 'Test Cricket', the phrase 'cricket test' and the associated loyalty concepts received a lot of media attention for many months after Tebbit's statement, and were widely discussed and argued over.
England is a largely urban, cosmopolitan society, with many inhabitants insistently proud of their links to Wales
, Scotland
and Ireland
, as well as those more recently from Europe
, across the Caribbean
, Africa
, Asia
and beyond. It is difficult to discriminate between these sources of pride.
For historical reasons, English nationalism
is often regarded as being connected with ultra-right-wing and fascist political sympathies. It is only during sports events that English flags are very widely displayed, and supporters of other countries that may have a lot of English-born fans (e.g. India
, Pakistan
, Jamaica
) like to display support in similar ways.
Some Asian and Black British
citizens in particular often feel that they are differentiated by their skin colour from and by other citizens, and that even in the 21st century, they are sometimes not accepted as citizens of equal standing with native English. Many believe that as their overseas origin is obvious, they might as well celebrate it and take pride in it. These attitudes, resulting from personal experience, are unlikely to be overcome by mere criticism with no accompanying social or political plans to change the situations that give rise to them.
Academics studying issues around cultural assimilation have shown that it is a very complex phenomenon, not well suited to a single or simple 'test'. A British-born child of immigrant parents can often be very assimilated and culturally aligned with his ethnically native UK peers in his public life, while following his parents' cultural practices at home. A person of Pakistani descent may well support Pakistan in preference to England during an England vs Pakistan sports event, but could at the same time support England in a match against any other country.
The perpetrators of the Glasgow International Airport attack
and the 2007 London bombs
were found to be reasonably assimilated into English society and no assessment of them similar to the 'cricket test' would have identified them as likely perpetrators. Instead, it is now widely accepted that disengagement from the democratic process, religious and political radicalisation are much clearer indicators.
Although some said the test could have prevented the London attack.
The original premise of Norman Tebbit's 1990 statement 'A large proportion of Britain's Asian population fail to pass...' has never been proved. Since then, Tebbit has made a number of other controversial public statements that seem to leave no doubt on his overall uncompromising attitude to those of differing ethnic and religious backgrounds.
National identity
is now seen to be more flexible than first thought, especially in multicultural, urban societies where people commonly speak two or more languages, and may belong to families formed from multiple cultures. Mutability and complexity of national identity is a major reason for the restriction of the use of the phrase to literal, rather than metaphorical use. The whole issue is also a notably individual one, so that broad claims such as Tebbit's original statement can easily be accused of generalising and stereotyping.
Norman Tebbit
Norman Beresford Tebbit, Baron Tebbit, CH, PC , is a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he served in the Cabinet from 1981 to 1987 as Secretary of State for Employment...
in referring to the 'loyalty' or 'lack of loyalty' of immigrants and their children from certain parts of Asia and the Caribbean to the England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
cricket team. Tebbit suggested that those immigrants who root for their native countries rather than Great Britain in sports might not be sufficiently loyal to their new country.
History of the phrase
Tebbit, in an interview with the Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, said: "A large proportion of Britain's Asian population fail to pass the cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
test. Which side do they cheer for? It's an interesting test. Are you still harking back to where you came from or where you are?"
Despite the possible confusion with 'Test Cricket', the phrase 'cricket test' and the associated loyalty concepts received a lot of media attention for many months after Tebbit's statement, and were widely discussed and argued over.
Decline in importance
Much of the intended bite of the phrase, that is, accusing immigrants and their (often British-born) descendants of disloyalty to Britain has since been lost, for several inter-related reasons:England is a largely urban, cosmopolitan society, with many inhabitants insistently proud of their links to Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, as well as those more recently from Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, across the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
and beyond. It is difficult to discriminate between these sources of pride.
For historical reasons, English nationalism
English nationalism
English nationalism refers to a nationalist outlook or political stance applied to England. In a general sense, it comprises political and social movements and sentiment inspired by a love for English culture, language and history, and a sense of pride in England and the English people...
is often regarded as being connected with ultra-right-wing and fascist political sympathies. It is only during sports events that English flags are very widely displayed, and supporters of other countries that may have a lot of English-born fans (e.g. India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
) like to display support in similar ways.
Some Asian and Black British
Black British
Black British is a term used to describe British people of Black African descent, especially those of Afro-Caribbean background. The term has been used from the 1950s to refer to Black people from former British colonies in the West Indies and Africa, who are residents of the United Kingdom and...
citizens in particular often feel that they are differentiated by their skin colour from and by other citizens, and that even in the 21st century, they are sometimes not accepted as citizens of equal standing with native English. Many believe that as their overseas origin is obvious, they might as well celebrate it and take pride in it. These attitudes, resulting from personal experience, are unlikely to be overcome by mere criticism with no accompanying social or political plans to change the situations that give rise to them.
Academics studying issues around cultural assimilation have shown that it is a very complex phenomenon, not well suited to a single or simple 'test'. A British-born child of immigrant parents can often be very assimilated and culturally aligned with his ethnically native UK peers in his public life, while following his parents' cultural practices at home. A person of Pakistani descent may well support Pakistan in preference to England during an England vs Pakistan sports event, but could at the same time support England in a match against any other country.
The perpetrators of the Glasgow International Airport attack
2007 Glasgow International Airport attack
The 2007 Glasgow International Airport attack was a terrorist attack which occurred on Saturday 30 June 2007, at 15:11 BST, when a dark green Jeep Cherokee loaded with propane canisters was driven into the glass doors of the Glasgow International Airport terminal and set ablaze...
and the 2007 London bombs
2007 London car bombs
On 29 June 2007, in London, two car bombs were discovered and disabled before they could be detonated. The first device was left near the Tiger Tiger nightclub in Haymarket at around 01:30, and the second was in Cockspur Street, in the same area of the city....
were found to be reasonably assimilated into English society and no assessment of them similar to the 'cricket test' would have identified them as likely perpetrators. Instead, it is now widely accepted that disengagement from the democratic process, religious and political radicalisation are much clearer indicators.
Although some said the test could have prevented the London attack.
The original premise of Norman Tebbit's 1990 statement 'A large proportion of Britain's Asian population fail to pass...' has never been proved. Since then, Tebbit has made a number of other controversial public statements that seem to leave no doubt on his overall uncompromising attitude to those of differing ethnic and religious backgrounds.
Current use
References to the 'cricket test' now mainly appear in the media in terms of sports fans' direct behaviour rather than as a metaphor - team supported, colours worn, ticket-buying patterns, sportsmanship, nationalities of players, etc.National identity
Identity (social science)
Identity is a term used to describe a person's conception and expression of their individuality or group affiliations . The term is used more specifically in psychology and sociology, and is given a great deal of attention in social psychology...
is now seen to be more flexible than first thought, especially in multicultural, urban societies where people commonly speak two or more languages, and may belong to families formed from multiple cultures. Mutability and complexity of national identity is a major reason for the restriction of the use of the phrase to literal, rather than metaphorical use. The whole issue is also a notably individual one, so that broad claims such as Tebbit's original statement can easily be accused of generalising and stereotyping.