Devon Malcolm keen to inspire young cricketers

Devon Malcolm believes cricket chiefs should have done more to get kids of West Indian heritage into the sport.

Malcolm, who played 40 Tests for England and is of Jamaican descent, is saddened to see so few of England's Caribbean communities playing cricket.

But while he thinks the England and Wales Cricket Board should have acted sooner, he doesn't think it is too late to inspire more children to take up the game.

"The key is to get more cricket into state schools," he said.

"I've worked with the ECB's Chance to Shine project trying to do just that, but more can always be done.

"There is a concern there that Caribbean communities aren't playing cricket. It's dropped off quite a bit. We've got (Hampshire's) Michael Carberry, but not much more.

"You need fathers to take their children out and show them the game but the problem is that we are talking about second or third generation West Indians and the interest is waning."

During the 70s and 80s, Malcolm's childhood, the West Indian cricket team were the best in the world, an era of dominance which is illustrated in the film Fire in Babylon, released on DVD on June 6.