Bowled Over

Here’s a name to remember: Sajid Mahmood. Now the more alert—and the English—amongst you will be wondering why I’m blogging about a cricketer (even if he just went on a tear on debut against Sri Lanka).

Mahmood is bigger than cricket. As a Muslim of South Asian extraction from the North West of England, his success could have a positive impact on British integration. If he makes it big he’ll be a much-needed positive role model for his disaffected peers. Thinking about the 7/7 attacks, one of the things that strikes you is how few role models there are for Britain’s Muslim youth to relate and look up to. The presence of one of their own in the core of England’s cricket team will make it easier for them to identify with the country and feel part of it.

It will also make it more difficult for racists to say that Muslims can’t be English. If it is Mahmood who rips through Australia’s batting lineup this winter the BNP will find it harder to convince people of the Muslim menace. Black players on England’s soccer team did much to quell the rise of racism in the 1980s. (By the 1990 World Cup, England had three black players in their starting XI.)

Mahmmood isn’t the first Muslim to play cricket for England. Indeed, England have already had a Muslim captain, Nasser Hussain. But Mahmood is the first who comes from the world of the 7/7 bombers: He’s a former supermarket shelf stacker from a tough Northern town. How appropriate it would be if an English sport that became the passion of the subcontinent helped South Asians integrate into Britain.