Suicide in cricket: A sociological explanation

Abstract

Statistics from David Friths’ (2001) book ‘Silence of the Heart: Cricket Suicides’ indicates cricket players are almost twice as likely as the average male to commit suicide, and furthermore have a higher rate of suicide than participants of any other sports. This thesis proposes to draw on the sociology of suicide devised by Emile Durkheim during the late 19th century. Accordingly, the objective of this study is to examine the social causes of the suggested suicide rate in cricket. Using data generated from 9 cricket players’ auto/biographies, the findings suggest that cricket, specifically long tours spent away from home, place unique strains on family relations when compared with those from other sporting occupations. Furthermore, findings allude towards a high divorce rate in cricket and high divorce rates have long been associated with an increase in suicide (Durkheim, 1966). Moreover, findings suggest retirement impacts on the suicide rate in cricket, as retirement leads to a loss of social regulation among cricketers, thus, creating an increase in the sense of anomie, or ‘normlessness’ among players, which causes an increase in the rate of anomic suicide. However, findings also propose retirement’s impact on the suicide rate is contingent on the presence of the family group; where a family group is present, retirement may negatively impact the suicide rate as retirement allows cricket players to re-integrate into the family group, thus increasing their sense of social integration which acts as a barrier, preventing an increase in the suicide rate.