Professional men's cricket is the third most privately education profession in the UK, ahead of the House of Lord's, according to a report from the Sutton Trust.
According to the report, 59 per cent of professional male cricketers in the UK were privately educated, with half of professional female cricketers also educated at private schools. That puts male cricketers ahead of the House of Lord's for the percentage of privately educated workforce, as well as the Shadow Cabinet.
The report also states that the percentage of privately educated professional cricketers in the UK has risen sharply since 2019, by 16 and 15 percentage points across men's and women's cricketers respectively. That increase is even greater from 2014, when 33 per cent of men's cricketers and 35 per cent of women's cricketers were privately educated.
No other sport appears in the top 10 most privately educated professions, with women's footballers having the lowest percentage of privately educated professionals of any of the surveyed professions (four per cent). Notably, women's rugby is also among the most state-school dominated professions (nine per cent), making women's cricket an outlier among UK women's sports.
Professional cricketers in the UK are more than eight times more likely to have attended private schools than the UK population average, with only 32 per cent having attended comprehensive schools. The report recognises players who have been awarded scholarships to private schools, and outlines how that can also limit opportunities for young players. “Opportunities can be limited because they often favour athletes who have come through their programme," read the report. "This limits opportunities for those who come to the sport late or who cannot afford the facilities or equipment.”
Another trend identified in the report is the decrease in the number of professional cricketers who attend university. Ten per cent of male UK cricketers went to university, compared to 31 per cent of men's rugby players. The university attendance is far higher among women's cricketers (58 per cent), but that figure is down from 82 per cent in 2019. That is in comparison to 71 per cent among women's rugby players.
The report from the Sutton Trust aims to explore the elites in British society across various sectors, and includes job roles with "the highest prestige and wealth". As well as professional sports people, the report also includes data from journalism and political sectors, as well as leading figures from charities and influencers.
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