With long periods of play in hot conditions and games often having to stop for rain or bad light, few sports are as susceptible to climate change as cricket.
Last July, when the UK experienced a record two-day heatwave during the one-day international between England and South Africa at Chester-le-Street in the northeast of England, the temperature reached 38°C.
Players were given ice towels and allowed more frequent drinks breaks, yet even with the precautions, England bowler Matthew Potts left the field after just eight overs due to "feeling effects of the heat".1 Some supporters were reported to have fainted or sought medical attention.2
Elsewhere, during the Sydney Ashes Test in 2018, at one point, a heat-index tracker registered 57.6°C and England batter Joe Root was hospitalised with gastrointestinal issues, severe dehydration and heat stress towards the end of the five-day contest.3
And in 2017, during a Test in New Delhi, Sri Lankan players wore masks and had oxygen canisters available in the dressing room to counter the heavy pollution, while some players vomited on the field.4
With the cricket season in England underway once again – and with the Ashes due to be played in June and July – concerns about the impact of climate change on the game are growing, and studies have painted a worrying picture.
The Game Changer report, published by the Climate Coalition in 2018, concluded that “of all the major pitch sports, cricket will be the hardest hit by climate change.” Alongside the concerns about extreme heat, it noted that “wetter winters and more intense summer downpours are disrupting the game at every level.”5
The study pointed to analysis which found that 27% of England’s home one-day internationals since 2000 had been played with reduced overs because of rain disruptions and that the rate of rain-affected matches had more than doubled since 2011, with 5% of matches abandoned completely.6
A study by The British Association for Sustainable Sport (BASIS) published in 2019 also highlighted cricket’s vulnerability to climate change, with Test-playing countries such as those in South Asia – India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka – as well as Australia and the Caribbean among the most exposed to its impact.7
The report noted that a hot, still, sunny day of 30°C and 35% humidity “could push players beyond the ‘black flag’ level at which the American College of Sports Medicine recommends cancelling any continuous exercise.”
BASIS recommended mitigating the effects of climate change through measures such as heat rules, more hydration breaks and air pollution monitoring, and proposed a bold vision to “make the sport a clean energy contributor, water neutral and waste neutral by the 2027 World Cup.”
While such a target appears hugely ambitious, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has stressed its commitment to sustainability and has set up a £5 million ECB Maintenance Fund that grounds can access for projects such as installation of LED lighting, energy efficiency and rainwater harvesting systems.8
Individual clubs and grounds have also been taking action. Lord’s in London was an early mover and became the first UK sports venue to employ a full-time sustainability manager back in 2009.
The ground switched to 100% renewable electricity in 2016 and then to 100% wind power a year later, which Lord’s claims has reduced its annual carbon footprint from utilities by 80%.9
More recently, The Oval, also in London, and Edgbaston in Birmingham have both set the target of operating as a net zero venue by 2030.10, 11
Warwickshire, who play at Edgbaston, said they are using electricity from renewable sources, as well as ensuring zero waste to landfill, increasing recycling rates and eliminating single-use plastics.
Surrey, whose home is The Oval, unveiled their plans in March and said they are aiming to reduce their carbon footprint by over 80%, with the rest offset through carbon credits.
The club has set an additional target of reducing total CO2e emissions by 45% by the end of 2024. “The initial focus will be on rapidly reducing the direct emissions that result from the Club and the running of The Kia Oval venue,” Surrey said. “This includes reducing electricity consumption, improving operational processes at the venue and increasing the quantity of recycling.”
The Galadari Stand, opened in 2021, had solar panels installed on the rooftop, and the club said it is also exploring the use of wind and kinetic flooring to generate energy on-site.
However, Surrey acknowledged that 78.6% of the emissions related to the club and the venue come from external sources such as suppliers and people visiting the venue. “Surrey will be working very closely with all partners to support them to reduce their own emissions and progress on their own journey to Net Zero,” it said.
Other clubs seeking to tackle climate change include Gloucestershire, who in 2021 became the first cricket club in the UK to sign up to the Race 2 Zero initiative.12
Gloucestershire’s ground in Bristol has 13 EV charging points – the highest number among all 18 first-class counties – and also has 125 bike racks. It claims to be the first cricket club in the world to buy an Allett C34E Evolution battery-powered cartridge mower13, and sources all its electricity energy from renewable supplies. There are 31 solar panels on the roof of the pavilion.14
The actions being taken by these clubs are encouraging, and while, at present, their commitment to sustainability marks them out, others are likely to follow.
However, as with most sports, cricket is attempting to tackle climate change as it grows and expands – both within England and globally, with more tournaments meaning more matches and more travel, making it harder to maintain a coherent sustainability strategy. The International Cricket Council (ICC) has been hit with criticism over its sponsorship deal with Saudi Arabian oil giant Aramco agreed last October15, and has faced growing calls for action, such as the setting up of a climate disaster fund to support vulnerable regions when they’re hit by extreme conditions.16
As cricket players and fans alike experience the varying effects of our changing climate, those calls are only likely to intensify.
References:
1 England v South Africa: Cricket dealt serious warnings during Chester-le-Street match - BBC Sport
2 Is Cricket Sustainable Amid Climate Change? - The New York Times (nytimes.com)
4 Oxygen cylinders arranged as SL players vomit | Deccan Herald
5 title page2 (squarespace.com)
6 Glamorgan County Cricket Club historian. (2017). Time lost to rain 1998-2017: using DLS data (formerly Duckworth Lewis Method).
7 Hit-for-Six-The-Impact-of-Climate-Change-on-Cr.pdf (basis.org.uk)
9 Sustainability | Lord's (lords.org)
11 Surrey commit to Net Zero by 2030 - Kia Oval
13 Gloucestershire CCC The First Cricket Club to Go Green – ALLETT
14 Sustainability | Gloucestershire Cricket (gloscricket.co.uk)
15 Aramco cricket deal again proves sport will ignore reality for revenue | Sport | The Guardian
Jonathan's work on the sports industry has been published by The Times, The Observer, The Independent and The Sun, as well as Sport Business, Off The Pitch, FC Business and Zero Carbon Academy.
He has also contributed to BBC Radio 5 Live, Middle East Eye, The Scotsman, Rediff.com., World Soccer, When Saturday Comes, Wisden Cricket Monthly and School Sport.
Away from sports, he has held full-time and freelance roles at a number of global B2B publishers. He was the Founding Editor of Twist - a magazine covering the latest developments across the fashion industry supply chain. The title is published by World Textile Information Network (WTiN). Following the success of the launch of Twist, Jonathan was promoted to Head of Content at WTiN. In this newly-created role, he was responsible for developing WTiN's digital content and social media presence as the company evolved from being a magazine publisher to a market-leading media company across all platforms.
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