SM
Barcelona vs. Brann: 8 hrs 50 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews
Collect News Data

Tymal Mills: 'Initiatives are more important than taking a knee'

:Headline: Tymal Mills: 'Initiatives are more important than taking a knee':
The Sussex left-arm paceman feels inclusive schemes will prove more significant than gestures in broadening cricket's appeal in years to come.
Sports Mole

Tymal Mills believes inclusive initiatives which aim to engage newer audiences will ultimately pave the way for substantial change in cricket more than gestures such as taking a knee.

While the England and Wales Cricket Board introduced a raft of measures, including a new equality code of conduct, after troubling claims of racism within the game emerged last year, others have taken matters into their own hands.

Ebony Rainford-Brent, the first black woman to represent England, pioneered the Afro-Caribbean Engagement Programme alongside Surrey while Mills is one of several cricketers to become an ambassador for Chance to Shine.

Tymal Mills is a Chance to Shine ambassador (Anthony Devlin/PA)

The ambition is to provide a diverse set of role models for the 600,000 children the national cricket charity works with, and Mills, born in Yorkshire with Afro-Caribbean heritage, insisted these ventures can have a lasting impact.

Indeed, the Sussex left-arm paceman feels they will prove more significant in broadening cricket's appeal in years to come than taking a knee, which England were criticised for abandoning midway through last summer.

Mills told the PA news agency: "Taking a knee is a powerful, symbolic gesture but I think in reality what came to light last year is a lot more important, what organisations, what schemes came about.

"I feel that especially being a mixed-race guy who went to state school, I wasn't privately educated, there aren't a lot of people from that same demographic that end up playing cricket.

"So anything that I can do with Chance to Shine, I know Ebony Rainford-Brent has taken her work with the ACE programme to the next level, those are the things that are actually tangible and that make the difference.

“I have goals and ambitions to play for England but ultimately it starts with my body and ends with my body. That's all I'm focusing on.”
- Tymal Mills

"What's happened in the last 12 months or so, these organisations, these schemes are becoming a lot more visible and ultimately those are the things that actually make a difference down the line.

"We won't see a huge amount of change in the next couple of years but hopefully in the next five, 10, 15 and 20 years, that's where you'll see real change and it may come from what unfortunately happened last summer."

It has been more than four years since Mills, a Twenty20 specialist capable of regularly exceeding 90mph, earned the last of his four England caps, with injuries and notably a couple of stress fractures derailing his progress.

But Mills, 28, is now back at full fitness and relishing the thought of a bumper summer in which he will feature in the Vitality Blast as well as the inaugural edition of The Hundred, having been snapped up by Southern Brave.

He said: "I can't wait. First and foremost, I'm just focusing on my body and staying fit and healthy, that's something that unfortunately for one reason or another I've not been able to do.

It has been more than four years since Tymal Mills played for England (Clive Gee/PA)

"I'm still confident that when I'm fit and firing, I perform to a high level. The body's feeling good and last summer, (Sussex) only played one game on TV but I think I was still hitting 93mph pretty regularly.

"I know it's still my trump card, my x-factor as such. I definitely don't want to be losing that. I'm not holding back at all to preserve anything else. I know I still need to be bowling quickly if I'm going to be successful."

Two T20 World Cups are scheduled to take place within the next 18 months and although Mills retains the dream of returning to England duty in the future, he revealed it is not uppermost in his thoughts.

He added: "I feel if I'm at my best I'd like to think I'd be in that conversation. I'm not somebody that likes to stay in a comfortable scenario and just tick along, I want to try and be the best that I can.

"I have goals and ambitions to play for England but ultimately it starts with my body and ends with my body. That's all I'm focusing on. If I stay fit then hopefully those things will come and if not so be it."

:: Donate today to support more children to play cricket at chancetoshine.org/donate

body check tags ::

amp_article__446938 : Collect and Make Data not in DataBase  : 
last updated article - 2021-05-11 09:32:18:
html db last update - 2021-05-11 09:04:17 :

ex - 7200 : read : write cache and make html

Click here for more stories about Tymal Mills

Click here for more stories about England

Share this article now:
MW
Read Next:
Mark Wood: 'I cannot afford to take my place for granted'
>


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!
Read more about Tymal Mills Ebony Rainford-Brent Cricket
Follow @SportsMole for the latest breaking news stories, and follow @sm_headlines to get every headline from Sports Mole
Recommended Next on SM
Mark Wood: 'I cannot afford to take my place for granted'
Lionel Messi reveals decision over retirement

Page options

Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Arsenal28204470244664
2Liverpool28197265263964
3Manchester CityMan City28196363283563
4Aston Villa29175760421856
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs28165759421753
6Manchester UnitedMan Utd28152113939047
7West Ham UnitedWest Ham2912894650-444
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2811985044642
9Wolverhampton WanderersWolves28125114244-241
10Newcastle UnitedNewcastle281241259481140
11Chelsea27116104745239
12Fulham29115134344-138
13Bournemouth2898114152-1135
14Crystal Palace2878133348-1529
15Brentford2975174154-1326
16Everton2887132939-1025
17Luton TownLuton2957174260-1822
18Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest2967163551-1621
19Burnley2945202963-3417
20Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd2835202474-5014
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.

history www

Arsenal injury, suspension list vs. Man City - Saka, Gabriel

NEW

1

AI

Manchester United could be missing nine players for Brentford clash

2

MU

Liverpool injury, suspension list vs. Brighton

NEW

3

LI

Preview: DC United vs. Montreal - prediction, team news, lineups

NEW

4

PD

Key Man City defender 'serious doubt for Arsenal clash'

5

KM

Manchester United 'relaxed over wonderkid's contract situation'

6

MU

Preview: Benfica vs. Chaves - prediction, team news, lineups

7

PB

Preview: Lincoln vs. Leyton Orient - prediction, team news, lineups

8

PL

Man United injury, suspension list vs. Brentford

9

MU

Man United to prioritise Olise deal over Bakayoko?

10

MU


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .