Oxford Research Summer Week 2
Our week began with a visit to Blackbird Leys where we met with Ashad, the founder of the Leys Cricket Club. It was inspiring to hear about the genesis of his grassroots community initiative, as well as his own personal background and motivations. The club is in its early stages, so this year's research will seek to steer the directions of player recruitment and club establishment, whereas future years may be better equipped to survey participants directly.
During the conversation, we identified key groups at risk of underrepresentation. An area that Ashad touched on was the prevalence of ethnic (and possibly religious) clustering within the Leys community, which presents challenges with recruitment of players unless group leaders are brought on board with the initiative. The literature on ethnic clustering in Oxfordshire is sparse, but future directions of research may seek to examine whether ethnic clustering is a barrier to team integration within the Leys Cricket Club, once it is established.
Another identified group was that of women and girls, who only represented ~10% of subjects who completed the expression of interest form. This year, part of our research will seek to examine how we can drive gender balance in player recruitment. Conducting a literature review, we identified trends more broadly in the sports world. In the coming weeks we will search for potential solutions.
It is clear that Ashad feels strongly about social justice as a driver for the creation of the club. His aim to bridge the gap between less privileged communities and affluent educational institutes is admirable. He has already formed close connections with Radley College, but we may be able to assist in establishing links with the colleges of Oxford University.
I'm Frederic, a first-year undergraduate on the six-year medicine programme (BA BM BCh) at the University of Oxford. Outside of medicine, I am an avid musician, playing violin with the Oxford University Philharmonia. This year, my research with the SDG Impact Lab partners with the recently established Leys Cricket Club to investigate participation of underrepresented groups in this community initiative.
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Hi Frederic,
Thank you for another thoughtful reflection. It is clear that you are engaging carefully with both the practical realities of the project and the literature surrounding participation in community sport.
I particularly liked your observation that the focus of this year's research is necessarily different because the club is still in its early stages. Recognising that research questions evolve alongside the organisations we study is an important insight. Rather than seeing this as a limitation, you identify it as an opportunity to lay foundations for future cohorts, which demonstrates good research judgement.
Your discussion of underrepresented groups was also interesting. You rightly identify that recruitment is unlikely to be explained by a single factor, and your comments about ethnic clustering and the participation of women and girls suggest you are already beginning to think about the complex social dynamics involved. As your project progresses, I'd encourage you to keep asking not only who is underrepresented, but why. Understanding the mechanisms that encourage or inhibit participation will ultimately produce stronger recommendations than simply describing patterns.
One suggestion for future reflections would be to make them a little more personal. At the moment, the piece reads rather like a project update. I'd be interested to hear more about what you found surprising or challenging. For example, did anything Ashad said change your assumptions about community sport? Did visiting Blackbird Leys alter your perspective on the relationship between sport and social mobility? Those moments of personal learning are often the most interesting part of a reflective blog.
Finally, I was struck by your closing comments about Ashad's commitment to social justice. It made me wonder about the role of character in community leadership. Establishing a grassroots organisation is rarely sustained by technical expertise alone — it often requires persistence, trust-building, resilience and a willingness to bring together people from different backgrounds around a shared purpose. As someone studying medicine, you may find interesting parallels with healthcare, where leadership similarly depends on combining professional competence with qualities such as empathy, integrity and service.
I'm looking forward to seeing how both your research and your own reflections develop over the coming weeks.
Best wishes,
Ben