Bring back the cane to sort out Britain’s yobs, says Ian Botham
Cricketing legend Ian Botham calls for the cane to be brought back into schools after riots erupt on the streets of Britain in 2011.
Sir Ian Botham believes caning should be brought back into schools to restore discipline and help prevent future riots.
The former England captain,
who was forced to lock himself in a hotel in Birmingham during the August
riots, added that the country's previous government need to take responsibility
for what happened.
Botham, 55, was
speaking as he launched an initiative to get inner-city youngsters and young
offenders playing a new version of his sport, known as cage cricket.
“Britain is in a mess. I
believe in the cane. It didn’t do me any harm. Bring it back. Youngsters today
need discipline and to get off their backsides,” he told the Express.
“Parents also have to take
greater responsibility. I am afraid at the end of the day most of it is down to
them.”
“We have Ed Miliband
telling us where the Conservatives are going wrong. But hang on a minute. You
were the ones who landed us in this situation and we are in a perilous
situation.”
Botham has three grown-up
children of his own, as well as four grandchildren aged from 18-months to
17-years-old.
Describing the night he
found himself in the midst of the riots in the West Midlands, he said: “Everyone
thought Birmingham was going to go AWOL that night. We all sat there in total
silence.
“No one went out. The hotel
doors were locked, its shutters pulled down. If it wasn’t for the dignity of
Tariq Jahan's father, I honestly thought Birmingham city centre could have gone
up in flames.”
The all-rounder, known for
his disciplined approach to the game, believes that getting youngsters involved
in sport, particularly cricket, can help engage Britain's disaffected youth.
He added: “We need to
create an opportunity for youngsters to mingle, release and discipline
themselves, to play a game.
“The government can lie as
much as it wants but half the playing fields are being sold off. I want to give
kids the opportunity to keep out of trouble.
“And who knows, we could
find a cricketer who had never had this chance in the schools.
“The same goes for those in
prison. We give hard criminals a bat and a ball and they are pleased about
playing. It’s the best way of engaging the most disengaged of our population.”
Cage cricket is a
six-a-side game, played on concrete, with coloured zones for scoring,
positioning and refereeing for 30 overs.
As published on
the Daily Mail online, 26 September 2011
Ian
Botham
Picture credits: Unknown
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