Steven Davies: the smallest club sport

But, good stories to share, there is no reason to pretend that all is well in the world macho tirelessly professional sports. Enthusiasts of hate to admit it, but good number of their idols evince attitudes which should have with the brontosaurus.

Heaven help the footballer in Premier League gay rumour. Abuse from the terraces is relentless, the willingness of the authorities to stamp it out conspicuous by their absence. Casual homophobia is tolerated as casual racism is not. The Nasty Britain bares its teeth.

Cricket can be a gentler, more civilized game, but it is vitiated by the same prejudices. If gays cricket players were also common that gay actors or of officials or accountants, Steven Davies would not feel apprehension, as he did before his announcement. The fact that it is the first professional cricket player out while still playing is a black mark against our national game. There must have been others. That seems statistically certain. But they felt clearly intimidated at the prospect of admitting it.

England teammate Jimmy Davies Anderson, married father of two, stressed the fact that there is no homophobia in cricket and, to prove his words, happily posed for gay magazine Attitude last year. Anderson perhaps reason, but cricket fans met may remain skeptical. Things are really simple?

Like many sports, cricket revolves around competitive displays of toughness. If you take a bouncer on the chest, without flinching, you are a man. If you step back, you are a WIMP and must play netball. The game is as war by other means: a testing ground of virility.

It was not always thus. In its early stages, cricket has attracted some bizarre fops, such as the dandy of Regency Beau Brummel, who played a game of first class for Hampshire, 23 points, and three. Nobody would mind sharing a dressing room with a man that bears of silk scarves and rumor have lovers of both sexes. There was a tolerance of human diversity.

But as a game friendly amateur metamorphosed in professional sport we know today, players of more numerous themselves should conform to stereotypes of cartoon of virility. The ideal cricket came from a family of mine in Yorkshire, door size 12 boots and can drink for England. After his retirement from the game, he found the box comment and notice that the cricketers of today were soft and that he never required a sports psychiatrist, eaten broccoli or wear a helmet.

If Steven Davies was nervous before coming out, it is not because he felt surrounded by ignorant fanatics, incapable of behaving decently toward a teammate, but because he knew that his sexuality would make him the odd man out in a world fueled by testosterone. If a player of cricket has a feminine side, he is not interested to explore it. It would be rather West Indian fast bowlers on a hummocky terrain. A culture of laddishness permeates every dressing room in the country.

As with cricket, both with the sport as a whole. In regard to the fight against racism, professional sports can keep its head high. The fact that each Earth football team includes black and white players provided the world with a powerful image of racial harmony.

His record in the fight against homophobia is much less Honourable. Indeed, the history of professional sport is littered with examples of homosexuals who are out of the closet, sometimes after dithering for years and paid a heavy price.

One of the first openly gay U.S. sportsmen was baseball Glenn Burke, who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1970s and died of AIDS. Rumours of his activities off-field so alarmed his club that it offered to pay for a lavish honeymoon if he agreed to marry. Burke treated the proposal with the contempt it deserved and was placed in barrels of baseball.

Tragically short life of Burke was taken over in the career of Justin Fashanu, still the only prestigious British footballer to declare gay. It was officially released in 1990, but only after suffering years of abuse and prejudice. Brian Clough, his manager at Nottingham Forest, was so brutally indifferent it prohibited Fashanu of training with the rest of the team. The player has had a volatile, nomadic career, was unloaded by the club after club and finally by committed suicide.

An another gay athlete who had to go through purgatory was the American diver Greg Louganis, who won gold at the Los Angeles and the Olympic Games in Seoul. In Seoul, in 1988, he has not yet come and, unknown to the world of sport, was HIV-positive. When he cracked open the head during a dive and blood infiltrated in the pool, it was in a State of emotional turmoil. Only when he finally told the truth, in a TV interview in 1995, could it make him with his demons.

Attitudes seem to be changing, albeit slowly, even if the fact that gay athletes still make headlines shows how far we have to travel. But each step is cause for celebration.

In the race for the 2008 Olympic Games, the Australian diver Matthew Mitcham stated that he was homosexual. Person casts an eyelid. A year later, the Rugby Union ultra-macho world had to digest news that the Welsh former Captain Gareth Thomas was homosexual. Rugby was the revelation in its wake. Indeed, as soon as Thomas had bared his soul, he realizes that the hostile reaction, he was constantly is largely a product of his imagination.

Steve Davies is likely to go through similar emotions: relief that he shared his secret with the world. gratitude for the support he get; and excitement that it may finally be true to himself. But we should not underestimate the ousts its decision or the courage to take. Admit that you are gay in an environment in which there are many other homosexual people is difficult, but hardly petrifying. Admit you are gay in the locker room in England, surrounded by the kind of men who tend to measure their masculinity by the number of beer they drank and the number of women, that they have beds are another issue.

This is the stuff that real sports heroes.

' Fields of Courage: the bravest chapters of Sport' by Max Davidson is published by Little, Brown in £ 16.99

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Steven Davies: everyone will benefit if sexual prejudice is driven out of sport

There are thousands of professional sportsmen and women around the world, and there have probably been millions who have competed at a high level during the past 150 years of organised sport.

And yet, there have been so few openly gay sportsmen and women that those who have talked openly about their sexuality, or been outed by the tabloids, could fit comfortably in a single London bus.

For those few who have come out, there is a pattern. First of all, they are more likely to be women – for lesbianism has never been illegal and tends to be viewed with a smirk rather than a frown by the men who run our media empires. In the 1980s, the great tennis players Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova were trailblazers for both genders.

Secondly, the sportspeople who come out are more likely to be involved in individual sports, like the diver Greg Louganis or the ice-skater Robin Cousins. Because, for those who work within a team environment, the biggest fear is being rejected by their old friends and comrades.

Gareth Thomas, the former Wales rugby captain, was one man who broke the dressing-room taboo, and feared how his team-mates, Stephen Jones and Martyn Williams, might react. "But they came in, patted me on the back and said: 'We don't care. Why didn't you tell us before?'"

There is also a third variable, relating to the nature of the spectators who watch a sport. It is an unfortunate truth that football fans tend to produce the most hostile and intimidating crowds, and this may explain why football has only had one openly gay player in its history. It is equally unfortunate that Justin Fashanu hanged himself in a garage in Shoreditch, because his tragic story has surely persuaded many other gay footballers to stay inside the closet.

Cricket can hardly claim to be a bastion of enlightenment. In the course of recording a radio documentary on homosexuality in sport, entitled Pride Versus Prejudice, researchers spoke to two former England cricketers. One insisted that there was not a single gay player on the county circuit, while the other argued that gays had no business in professional sport, because of the potential for dressing-room discord.

Still, whatever the establishment may think, there has been at least one instance of a gay professional cricketer. Even if Alan Hansford (Sussex, 1989-1992) is hardly a name that resonates with many beyond the Hove faithful. He revealed his sexuality in 2008 with an amusing letter to Mike Atherton, in which he said: “There can’t be too many gay accountants who dismissed you twice in a first-class match.”

Now we have a second cricketer, and a much bigger fish, in Steven Davies. Who bucks the trend, not only by coming from a sport with a tradition of homophobia, but by revealing his secret at such an early stage of his career.

Davies should be ready for all the gay magazines and groups who will want to talk to him. This will be a tricky balancing act. On the one hand, he will want to be seen for who he is and what he does rather than what he represents. On the other, he has a wonderful opportunity to be a positive role model to all the youngsters who love to watch and play sport but have no one to identify with.

Davies’s courageous move reflects the fact that society is changing. In the UK, male homosexuality was illegal until 1967. As with the acceptance of multiculturalism, it takes time for prejudice to die out.

Today, though, we live in an age where sexual tolerance is not just a goal but a reality for many. Among the Facebook and Twitter generation, homosexuality is often a complete non-issue, and there can be few people under the age of 50 in the UK without at least some gay friends.

Despite these cultural shifts, some people still don't want to come out simply because they fear being labelled. They are happy with who they are, all their friends and family know, but they refuse to ever publicly acknowledge it because they don't want to be defined as The Gay Swimmer or The Lesbian Athlete.

It is easy to understand such a position, yet a conspiracy of silence perpetuates itself. As long as gay sportspeople remain in such short supply, they are bound to attract disproportionate attention. Perhaps what we need is a mass coming-out day where dozens of sportsmen and women, past and present, all announce on the same day.

The benefits of such an unveiling would surely outweigh the negatives. In Britain alone, the gay community provides many top performers in football, rugby, athletics, aquatics, equestrianism and so on. Yet they are unable to be open, and express themselves freely, due to the latent homophobia that still exists within certain sections of British sport.

For many of these people, the pressure of deceit, the strain of living double lives, and the constant fear of blackmail or exposure means that they are unable to perform to their maximum potential. Take away that prejudice and everyone would benefit: the players, the clubs, the fans, and sport itself.

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Steven Davies: the smallest club in sport

But, feel-good stories apart, there is no point in pretending that all is well in the relentlessly macho world of professional sport. Sports fans hate to admit it, but many of their idols evince attitudes that should have gone out with the brontosaurus.

Heaven help the Premier League footballer rumoured to be gay. The abuse from the terraces is incessant, the willingness of the authorities to stamp it out conspicuous by its absence. Casual homophobia is tolerated in a way casual racism is not. Nasty Britain bares its teeth.

Cricket may be a gentler, more civilised game, but it is vitiated by the same prejudices. If gay cricketers were as common as gay actors or civil servants or accountants, Steven Davies would not have felt the trepidation he did before making his announcement. The fact that he is the first professional cricketer to come out while still playing is a black mark against our national game. There must have been others. That seems statistically certain. But they clearly felt intimidated at the prospect of admitting it.

Davies’s England team-mate Jimmy Anderson, a married father of two, insists that there is no homophobia in cricket and, to prove his point, cheerfully posed for the gay magazine Attitude last year. Anderson may be right, but rank-and-file cricket fans are likely to remain sceptical. Are things really that simple?

Like many sports, cricket revolves around competitive displays of toughness. If you can take a bouncer on the chest without flinching, you are a man. If you back away, you are a wimp and should be playing netball. The game is like war by other means: a testing ground for virility.

It was not always thus. In its infancy, cricket attracted some outlandish fops, such as Regency dandy Beau Brummell, who played a first-class match for Hampshire, scoring 23 and three. Nobody minded sharing a dressing-room with a man who wore silk cravats and was rumoured to have lovers of both sexes. There was a tolerance of human diversity.

But as a friendly amateur game metamorphosed into the professional sport we know today, cricketers increasingly found themselves expected to conform to cartoon stereotypes of manliness. The ideal cricketer came from a Yorkshire mining family, wore size 12 boots and could drink for England. On retiring from the game, he would turn up in the commentary box and opine that the cricketers of today were going soft and that he had never needed a sports psychiatrist, eaten broccoli or worn a helmet.

If Steven Davies was nervous before coming out, it was not because he felt surrounded by ignorant bigots, incapable of behaving decently towards a team-mate, but because he knew that his sexuality would make him the odd man out in a world fuelled by testosterone. If a cricketer has a feminine side, he is not interested in exploring it. He would rather face West Indian fast bowlers on a bumpy pitch. A culture of laddishness pervades every dressing-room in the country.

As with cricket, so with sport as a whole. When it comes to combating racism, professional sport can hold its head up high. The fact that every football team in the land comprises black and white players has provided the world with a powerful image of racial harmony.

Its record in combating homophobia is far less honourable. Indeed, the history of professional sport is littered with examples of homosexuals who came out of the closet, sometimes after dithering for years, and paid a heavy price.

One of the first openly gay US sportsmen was baseball’s Glenn Burke, who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1970s and died of Aids. Rumours of his off-the-field activities so alarmed his club that it offered to pay for a lavish honeymoon if he agreed to get married. Burke treated the proposal with the contempt it deserved and was drummed out of baseball.

Burke’s tragically short life was echoed in the career of Justin Fashanu, still the only high-profile British footballer to declare himself gay. He came out officially in 1990, but only after suffering years of prejudice and abuse. Brian Clough, his manager at Nottingham Forest, was so brutally unsympathetic that he barred Fashanu from training with the rest of the team. The player had a nomadic, unsettled career, was offloaded by club after club, and eventually committed suicide.

Another gay sportsman who had to go through purgatory was the American diver Greg Louganis, who won gold at the Los Angeles and Seoul Olympics. At Seoul, in 1988, he had still not come out and, unbeknown to the sporting world, was HIV-positive. When he cracked open his head during a dive, and blood seeped into the pool, he was in a state of emotional turmoil. Only when he finally told the truth, in a TV interview in 1995, could he come to terms with his demons.

Attitudes do seem to be changing, albeit slowly, though the very fact that gay sportsmen still make headlines shows how far we have to travel. But every milestone is cause for celebration.

In the build-up to the 2008 Olympics, the Australian diver Matthew Mitcham declared that he was gay. Nobody batted an eyelid. A year later, the ultra-macho world of rugby union had to digest the news that former Welsh captain Gareth Thomas was gay. Rugby took the revelation in its stride; indeed, as soon as Thomas had bared his soul, he realised that the hostile reaction he was dreading was largely a figment of his imagination.

Steve Davies is likely to go through similar emotions: relief that he has shared his secret with the world; gratitude for the support he will get; and exhilaration that he can finally be true to himself. But we should not underestimate the momentousness of his decision or the courage needed to take it. To admit you are gay in an environment in which there are plenty of other gay people is daunting, but hardly petrifying. To admit you are gay in the England dressing-room, surrounded by the type of men who tend to measure their virility by the number of beers they have drunk and the number of women they have bedded is another matter.

It is the stuff of which true sporting heroes are made.

'Fields of Courage: The Bravest Chapters in Sport’ by Max Davidson is published by Little, Brown at £16.99

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Steven Davies: admitting I'm gay was 'tougher than facing Brett Lee'

Today, through The Daily Telegraph, Davies is outing himself to the wider public. “It will be a huge relief to get this over, to be honest,” he confides.

“It’s something I’ve lived with for a long time. Although I feel it is the right time, I am nervous about coming out. Who wouldn’t be? It’s the biggest decision I’ve had to face, and by far the toughest – bigger even than facing Brett Lee [the fearsome Australian fast bowler] in the middle.”

Without the big gloves, he looks vulnerable and sounds taut as a wire. “If I am brutally honest, I never enjoyed touring because of my secret and having to conceal my sexuality,” he says. “My friendships with the guys would reach a certain level, then I’d have to take a step back.

“A two-week tour would feel like two years for me. It was really tough. Cricket was my escape. When I was playing cricket I was at my happiest because all I had to worry about was getting runs and taking the catches. It was a relief to be out in the middle.”

Being selected for the Ashes squad was not an uncomplicated pleasure: it thrilled him professionally, but he knew the social side of a three-and-a-half-month tour would be an ordeal. In dressing rooms, hotel rooms and coffee bars he felt uncomfortable and dreaded being asked even the most innocuous questions about his love life. “Sooner or later, the conversation would come round to whether I had a girlfriend. I was scared of that. I could never be totally relaxed.”

After weeks of angst, he confided in Flower at Loughborough, a few days before the team left for Australia. The coach was practical as well as understanding. They talked for an hour about the best way forward.

“He agreed I had to tell the boys. I couldn’t live like this any more.” Flower and Strauss refused to overplay the tension. “Their line was: 'Steve wants you to know he’s gay. But it’s not an issue. Let’s just get on with it.’ I owe them both a lot. They were 100 per cent behind me and made me feel everything would be all right. In fact, I felt I was probably making a big deal out of it.”

Davies admits he was sick with nerves before the final batting session at Lord’s, where he faced some team-mates for the first time since the revelation. One by one, they came over to shake his hand and tell him that he had done the right thing.

Matt Prior, the wicketkeeper, Davies’s friend and rival, went out of his way. “He came up to me and gave me a hug and we spoke for about five minutes. He couldn’t believe I had kept it to myself for this long. He said I should have told him. That was special.”

During the Ashes, Hugh Morris, the managing director of England Cricket, told Davies that his homosexuality “would not be an issue” and supported his disclosure.

The effect on Davies was dramatic. “I enjoyed a three-and-a-half-month tour that would previously have killed me. Once the secret was out, those months just flew by. My friendships with the boys blossomed. It’s easier now I’ve got nothing to hide. I can get fully involved in all the banter, which I love. It took a few days to get back to normal. I cracked a joke about myself and after that everything was absolutely fine.”

Not quite, as it turned out. When Davies, reserve wicketkeeper during the Ashes but a top performer in the Twenty20 games, was dropped from the England squad for the current World Cup – in favour of Matt Prior – some cricket insiders suspected it was related to his coming out.

Davies admits he was “shocked and gutted” but does not believe the selectors’ decision had anything to do with his confession. “It was a bitter pill to swallow, I felt sick. But that suspicion never went through my head. Unfortunately for me, Andrew thought Matt would be more suitable.”

The left-handed wicketkeeper and batsman, who began his professional career playing for Worcester, is the first active international cricketer to admit he is homosexual.

The very few sportsmen who have “come out”, notably the rugby player Gareth Thomas, have usually done so at the end of their career. Davies should have his best cricketing years ahead of him.

In a world where it is easier to conform to the machismo of the group ethos than to stand out, his confession is impressive. Self-effacing, he does not see himself as a trailblazer for sport’s sexual tolerance. He had simply reached a point where evasion and dissembling were undermining his morale. “Everyone is different,” he says. “Some people are comfortable doing it [coming out]. Others are not. This is the right time for me. 'Do I tell them or do I not?’ I didn’t want that to be my life. I feel it is right to be out in the open about my sexuality. If more people do it, the more acceptable it will become. That must be a good thing.”

Davies says he knew he was gay when he was very young “but it was never a big deal because all I’d do was play sport”. He did not tell his parents, Mike and Lin, or his elder sister, Gemma, 26, until he was 19. “The support they have given me has been brilliant. Not everyone is so lucky.”

His parents travelled from the family home in Kidderminster to be with him as he made his announcement. “We are proud of him,” they said, “and love him as a son, as a successful sportsman and now, hopefully, as a role model to any young person dealing with their sexuality.”

Davies knows he has other hurdles — not least the response of cricket fans. Can he take the possible homophobic jibes, the snideness? “Yes, I did worry about it. You go through every scenario. You lose sleep. But if there is anything negative, what can I do? In cricket, the fans are very loyal. They are there to support you, rather than abuse you.

“I have to play my best for Surrey and get back in the England side. I am still the same person. I want to be remembered as a good cricketer, not a gay cricketer.”

Sometimes, he is accused of not being vocal enough behind the wicket. He believes that the confidence he has gained in the past months may even benefit his game. Would he now like to find a partner he could be with openly? “That’s what everyone wants, isn’t it? That special person. I’m no different. I haven’t found that person, but there is no rush. I’m still young and concentrating on my career.”

* Steven has donated his fee for this interview to NSPCC’s ChildLine, the 24-hour helpline for children who have no one else to talk to. In the past two years, the charity has received more than 10,000 calls from children concerned about their sexuality. The number is 0800 1111. To email or talk to a counsellor online, contact www.childline.org.uk.

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Steven Davies's 'strength and courage' backed by Gareth Thomas

Thomas, who came out last year, told the Daily Telegraph: "I am really happy for Steve and pleased that he has had the strength and courage to be able to come out and be open and honest about who he is, and to see that he has the support of his family and teammates in doing it, like I did.

"When you are a professional sportsman you have to be 100 per cent in the moment, and I know that I played many years of 90 per cent in the moment and 10 per cent listening to the crowd. That’s why it’s good for young sports people to come out early and be the best they possibly can through their career."

"There comes a point where you think that the whole world is against you, and then you say to yourself “I can carry on in this dark little world or I can be honest with everybody and live the life I want.”

Davies spoke candidly to the Daily Telegraph about his decision, saying: "This is the right time for me…I feel it is right to be out in the open about my sexuality. If more people do it, the more acceptable it will become. That must be a good thing.”

Davies also admitted he had been partly inspired by Thomas’s bravery in going public about his own sexuality.

He said: “Gareth Thomas’s story helped me. It just showed me it can be done. He was brave enough to stand up and say who he was. It was a very courageous thing to do, so if I can help anyone else like he helped me, then that would be great.”

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Steven Davies: England cricketer announces he is gay

He explained: “This is the right time for me…I feel it is right to be out in the open about my sexuality. If more people do it, the more acceptable it will become. That must be a good thing.

"To speak out is a massive relief for me, but if I can just help one person to deal with their sexuality then that's all I care about."

A former England under-19 captain, Davies, who made his international debut in 2009 during the Twenty20 in Trinidad, is widely tipped as a future star of the game.

But he admitted hiding his sexuality has affected his relationships in the dressing room.

He said he dreaded long international tours because he was forced to conceal an important part of his life from his team-mates.

Davies decided to confide in his England colleagues after being called up for the recent Ashes tour to Australia.

He said he received wonderful support from his team-mates, especially fellow wicketkeeper Matt Prior and captain, Andrew Strauss, and now looks forward to getting on with, what he hopes will be, a long and successful career at the highest level.

Davies’s decision to out himself comes two years after Welsh rugby hero Gareth Thomas also went public about his homosexuality.

The 36 year-old, who is currently playing for the Crusaders in Europe’s Super League, has voiced his support for Davies and said he admired his courage.

He said: “I am really happy for Steven and pleased that he has had the strength and courage to be able to come out and be open and honest about who he is, and to see that he has the support of his family and team-mates in doing it, like I did.

“I know how hard it is to be honest about something like this when you are in the public eye, and for him to be able to come out and talk about it at his age is refreshing and hopefully like when I came out, will encourage and inspire others to feel they can do the same. I hope that this will be just the start from him.”

Davies admitted he had been partly inspired by Thomas’s bravery in going public about his own sexuality.

He said: “Gareth Thomas’s story helped me. It just showed me it can be done. He was brave enough to stand up and say who he was. It was a very courageous thing to do, so if I can help anyone else like he helped me, then that would be great.

The world of professional sport remains hugely under-represented in terms of the numbers of openly gay people.

But campaigners hope the more who find the courage to come forward, the less of a stigma it will be for those struggling to deal with the issue.

While Thomas’s announcement, set against the backdrop of the intensely macho game of rugby, drew widespread admiration, he was coming towards the end of his career.

Davies’s decision to go public at such an early stage in his professional life, is seen as hugely significant in breaking down taboos surrounding homosexuality in professional sport.

"I hope it's all going to be fine with the fans," Davies added.

"If there is any abuse or anything then I don't need to worry about those people giving it out.

"The people that matter to me are family, friends and my team-mates, and everyone has been so amazing, that's what counts."

The Sussex bowler Alan Hansford, who played first class cricket between 1989 and 1992, is thought to be the only other openly gay player, but he did not go public about his sexuality until after his retirement.

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Steven Davies: admitting I'm gay was 'tougher than facing Brett Lee'

Today, through The Daily Telegraph, Davies is outing himself to the wider public. “It will be a huge relief to get this over, to be honest,” he confides.

“It’s something I’ve lived with for a long time. Although I feel it is the right time, I am nervous about coming out. Who wouldn’t be? It’s the biggest decision I’ve had to face, and by far the toughest – bigger even than facing Brett Lee [the fearsome Australian fast bowler] in the middle.”

Without the big gloves, he looks vulnerable and sounds taut as a wire. “If I am brutally honest, I never enjoyed touring because of my secret and having to conceal my sexuality,” he says. “My friendships with the guys would reach a certain level, then I’d have to take a step back.

“A two-week tour would feel like two years for me. It was really tough. Cricket was my escape. When I was playing cricket I was at my happiest because all I had to worry about was getting runs and taking the catches. It was a relief to be out in the middle.”

Being selected for the Ashes squad was not an uncomplicated pleasure: it thrilled him professionally, but he knew the social side of a three-and-a-half-month tour would be an ordeal. In dressing rooms, hotel rooms and coffee bars he felt uncomfortable and dreaded being asked even the most innocuous questions about his love life. “Sooner or later, the conversation would come round to whether I had a girlfriend. I was scared of that. I could never be totally relaxed.”

After weeks of angst, he confided in Flower at Loughborough, a few days before the team left for Australia. The coach was practical as well as understanding. They talked for an hour about the best way forward.

“He agreed I had to tell the boys. I couldn’t live like this any more.” Flower and Strauss refused to overplay the tension. “Their line was: 'Steve wants you to know he’s gay. But it’s not an issue. Let’s just get on with it.’ I owe them both a lot. They were 100 per cent behind me and made me feel everything would be all right. In fact, I felt I was probably making a big deal out of it.”

Davies admits he was sick with nerves before the final batting session at Lord’s, where he faced some team-mates for the first time since the revelation. One by one, they came over to shake his hand and tell him that he had done the right thing.

Matt Prior, the wicketkeeper, Davies’s friend and rival, went out of his way. “He came up to me and gave me a hug and we spoke for about five minutes. He couldn’t believe I had kept it to myself for this long. He said I should have told him. That was special.”

During the Ashes, Hugh Morris, the managing director of England Cricket, told Davies that his homosexuality “would not be an issue” and supported his disclosure.

The effect on Davies was dramatic. “I enjoyed a three-and-a-half-month tour that would previously have killed me. Once the secret was out, those months just flew by. My friendships with the boys blossomed. It’s easier now I’ve got nothing to hide. I can get fully involved in all the banter, which I love. It took a few days to get back to normal. I cracked a joke about myself and after that everything was absolutely fine.”

Not quite, as it turned out. When Davies, reserve wicketkeeper during the Ashes but a top performer in the Twenty20 games, was dropped from the England squad for the current World Cup – in favour of Matt Prior – some cricket insiders suspected it was related to his coming out.

Davies admits he was “shocked and gutted” but does not believe the selectors’ decision had anything to do with his confession. “It was a bitter pill to swallow, I felt sick. But that suspicion never went through my head. Unfortunately for me, Andrew thought Matt would be more suitable.”

The left-handed wicketkeeper and batsman, who began his professional career playing for Worcester, is the first active international cricketer to admit he is homosexual.

The very few sportsmen who have “come out”, notably the rugby player Gareth Thomas, have usually done so at the end of their career. Davies should have his best cricketing years ahead of him.

In a world where it is easier to conform to the machismo of the group ethos than to stand out, his confession is impressive. Self-effacing, he does not see himself as a trailblazer for sport’s sexual tolerance. He had simply reached a point where evasion and dissembling were undermining his morale. “Everyone is different,” he says. “Some people are comfortable doing it [coming out]. Others are not. This is the right time for me. 'Do I tell them or do I not?’ I didn’t want that to be my life. I feel it is right to be out in the open about my sexuality. If more people do it, the more acceptable it will become. That must be a good thing.”

Davies says he knew he was gay when he was very young “but it was never a big deal because all I’d do was play sport”. He did not tell his parents, Mike and Lin, or his elder sister, Gemma, 26, until he was 19. “The support they have given me has been brilliant. Not everyone is so lucky.”

His parents travelled from the family home in Kidderminster to be with him as he made his announcement. “We are proud of him,” they said, “and love him as a son, as a successful sportsman and now, hopefully, as a role model to any young person dealing with their sexuality.”

Davies knows he has other hurdles — not least the response of cricket fans. Can he take the possible homophobic jibes, the snideness? “Yes, I did worry about it. You go through every scenario. You lose sleep. But if there is anything negative, what can I do? In cricket, the fans are very loyal. They are there to support you, rather than abuse you.

“I have to play my best for Surrey and get back in the England side. I am still the same person. I want to be remembered as a good cricketer, not a gay cricketer.”

Sometimes, he is accused of not being vocal enough behind the wicket. He believes that the confidence he has gained in the past months may even benefit his game. Would he now like to find a partner he could be with openly? “That’s what everyone wants, isn’t it? That special person. I’m no different. I haven’t found that person, but there is no rush. I’m still young and concentrating on my career.”

* Steven has donated his fee for this interview to NSPCC’s ChildLine, the 24-hour helpline for children who have no one else to talk to. In the past two years, the charity has received more than 10,000 calls from children concerned about their sexuality. The number is 0800 1111. To email or talk to a counsellor online, contact www.childline.org.uk.

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Steven Davies has full backing of England squad after announcing he is gay, says Ian Bell

Andy Flower, the England team director, and captain Andrew Strauss contacted the players on his behalf and their reaction was overwhelmingly supportive.

“We knew before the Ashes series. That didn’t change anything for us,” said Ian Bell, the England batsman. “He is a very popular guy in our team. We are all behind him. As a guy, he is a fantastic cricketer and that is what we see him as. He is a massive important person in our team going forward. He is a very talented cricketer, like I said. As a mate as well, we’re all with him, and the more cricket he can play for England the better.”

Davies hopes his decision will make it easier in future for other homosexual sportsmen to follow in his footsteps. When asked if sexuality is taboo in sport, Bell said “Definitely not.” He added: “I think for us as a group, I can’t speak for other teams and other sports but for us as a group, it didn’t affect anything for Steve or any of the other lads.

"It helped him by speaking to the guys and, we just got on with it. He’s a fantastic cricketer and we are all with him. He is a good mate of mine and that doesn’t change absolutely anything.”

Davies confided in Flower at a training camp before the Ashes tour and it was decided he had to tell his team-mates.

“I don’t think it had any effect on any of the guys,” said Bell. “We all supported him through the tour which could have been very difficult. I think he has got a massive future in English cricket and that’s the most important thing for us. He is going to be around for a long time and we support him through and through.”

Davies, 24, had been earmarked as England’s wicketkeeper and opening batsman at the World Cup but lost his place in the early stages of the one-day series in Australia.

Flower said in a statement that Davies’ private life would have no impact on his cricketing career. “This is something Steve chose to discuss with myself and the squad some time ago. I would like to make it very clear that Steve is first and foremost a very talented cricketer and a valued member of the England set-up,” he said.

“His private life is his own concern and has absolutely no bearing on his ability to excel at the very highest level in international sport and I have no doubt that he will continue to work hard to regain a place in the England squad. Steve has had and will continue to have the full respect and support of the entire squad and everyone involved in England cricket.”

A number of cricketing figures, including the former England captain Michael Vaughan, lined up to support Davies, as did Stephen Fry. He wrote on Twitter: “Brave, charming, modest and inspiring. No big deal yet of course a huge deal. Top man Steven Davies.”

Vikram Solanki, chairman of the Professional Cricketers’ Association and Davies’ former captain in his days with his native Worcestershire, added: “Steve has the full support of all his colleagues in cricket. Many of those he plays with and against have known about this for some time, and none of them regard it as anything other than an entirely personal matter.”

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Steven Davies: cricket's big society will treat a brave cricketer with respect he deserves

Such rarity suggests there are still deep prejudices at play, though these are unlikely to emanate from within the game which, despite its conservative image, was a big society long before the term was coined.

Davies, a stylish batsman wicketkeeper who plays for Surrey and has represented England in one-day and T20 cricket, has done the right thing in being open about his sexuality, though the decision is not free of risk.

Had he made the same announcement while playing for the England women’s team, not so much as an eyebrow would have been raised. But men’s sport is still largely the province of the alpha male and they can be unpredictable.

Disseminating the news now, at the start of his international career and before a new domestic season, will have at least reduced that surprise element before he next takes the field.

That does not mean he won’t encounter some prejudice, though that can happen in sport for all sorts of reasons. What there won’t be, at least within the game, is the sort of vicious homophobia emanating from some members of the African clergy and the more hateful songs of Jamaican Ragga. Davies will be 25 in June which means he can probably look forward to another 10 years of competitive cricket for club and country, of which only the first few are likely to see him referred to as “Steve Davies, the gay cricketer”.

His proclivity could invite extra sledging from opponents, which probes the psyche for the line of least resistance. Yet, if Davies is proud and confident of his sexuality, and his coming out suggests that he is, any such attack should be futile.

Interestingly, the International Cricket Council’s anti-racism code guards against offending players on the basis of race, religion, gender, colour, descent or ethnic origin, but not sexuality. If he achieves nothing else in his career, though his talent suggests otherwise, Davies should at least bring about a change here.

History demands we see his decision as being brave, and on several fronts it is. Professional sportsmen really do seek to control the controllables and in revealing his true self, Davies has forsaken some measure of that. But what he may have lost in controlling the public perception of him and therefore its reaction, he has surely more than gained in peace of mind, arguably the most vital component to being successful at anything.

He apparently informed his England team-mates before the Ashes tour, while it has been an open secret at Surrey since he joined them from Worcestershire at the start of last season. Going that extra mile now, with full public exposure, will help them as much as him. Instead of being ultra-careful over what they reveal in public, they can now be more open about their team- mate.

Quiet and unassuming anyway, it was difficult to judge on the Ashes tour how Davies was affected by keeping his secret close. When his chance on the pitch came, to nail down the wicketkeeping role as well as the opening slot alongside Andrew Strauss for the World Cup, he failed to take his opportunity.

How distracting were off-field events? For those of us who knew of his dilemma, the decision by England’s selectors to recall Matt Prior to the squad – with what looked like indecent haste – did arouse suspicions that Davies may have been dropped because his mind was elsewhere. This has been denied by Geoff Miller, the national selector, who said that Davies was dropped “purely for cricketing reasons”, the first being that he needed pace on the ball to score (something that would be denied him on the slow pitches at the World Cup) and, secondly, that England needed more energy and aggression behind the stumps.

Davies clearly had misgivings about going public, something suggested by his carefully orchestrated coming out now. You can understand his reticence. Sportsmen have macho ideals imprinted on their brains from a young age. Worcestershire identified and groomed him from the age of 11, so you can understand if he felt a sense of confusion. Understandable though any subterfuge would have been, being dishonest to colleagues, even in the past, will still hurt and all those times when peer pressure forced him to join in the banter about birds and bling must make for excruciating memories.

Not everyone has faith in cricket to treat him decently, and doubters will point to a radio documentary about gay men in sport broadcast on the BBC in 2000. The programme claimed that an England cricketer they’d spoken to, said that if there were any gay men in professional cricket they shouldn’t be picked for England, as it would be bad for team spirit.

How many players they spoke to is not clear but I’d like to think the Essex and England teams I represented in the Eighties and early Nineties would have been equally accepting of Davies as his current team-mates.

Yes, there would have been initial shock and the kind of mickey-taking unlikely to have passed muster among the politically correct, but I’m fairly certain there would have been no animosity. Being a team man and succeeding at cricket is what counted then and is all that matters now.

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Steven Davies "force and courage" supported by Gareth Thomas

Thomas, who came out last year, said the Daily Telegraph: "I am really happy for Steve and pleased that it did not have the strength and the courage to come and be open and honest about who he woodlands to see that he has the support of his family and his teammates make."as I have done.

"When you're a professional athlete you must be 100% at the present time, and I know I've played many years of 90 per cent in the moment and listening to the crowd of 10%." That is why it is good for sports out early and be the best young people that they can eventually through their career. »

"There comes a time where you think the world is against you, and then you say to yourself,"I can continue in this small dark world or I can be honest with everyone and live the life I want.""

Davies spoke frankly for the Daily Telegraph of its decision, saying: this is the right time for me… "It seems to me just out in the open air on my sexuality." If more people, more acceptable it will become. Which must be a good thing. »

Davies also admitted that he had been inspired in part by the bravery of Thomas in revelations about his own sexuality.

He said: "history of Gareth Thomas helped me." He simply showed me that it is feasible. He was brave enough to stand up and say who it was. It was a very courageous thing to do, so if I can help someone else as it helped me, then that would be great. »

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Gareth Thomas backs 'strength and courage' shown by Steven Davies

Thomas, who came out last year, told the Daily Telegraph: "I am really happy for Steve and pleased that he has had the strength and courage to be able to come out and be open and honest about who he is, and to see that he has the support of his family and teammates in doing it, like I did.

"When you are a professional sportsman you have to be 100 per cent in the moment, and I know that I played many years of 90 per cent in the moment and 10 per cent listening to the crowd. That’s why it’s good for young sports people to come out early and be the best they possibly can through their career."

"There comes a point where you think that the whole world is against you, and then you say to yourself “I can carry on in this dark little world or I can be honest with everybody and live the life I want.”

Davies spoke candidly to the Daily Telegraph about his decision, saying: "This is the right time for me…I feel it is right to be out in the open about my sexuality. If more people do it, the more acceptable it will become. That must be a good thing.”

Davies also admitted he had been partly inspired by Thomas’s bravery in going public about his own sexuality.

He said: “Gareth Thomas’s story helped me. It just showed me it can be done. He was brave enough to stand up and say who he was. It was a very courageous thing to do, so if I can help anyone else like he helped me, then that would be great.”

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Gareth Thomas: Steven Davies can play with freedom now he has come out as gay

Before I made a public announcement, I was struggling to play rugby while also dealing with the demons in my private life. Against Australia in 2009, I couldn’t focus. I came off and my coach Scott Johnson found me sitting by my locker crying. He asked me why, and I said that my wife Gemma had left me and told him the reason.

Johnson said we should tell Stephen Jones and Martyn Williams, two great friends of mine, but also two senior players who people respected. My team-mates at Cardiff – and at Wales – knew me so well that life pretty much went on as normal. But then I switched to rugby league, and everything changed.

In a rugby dressing room, there are so many wisecracks and jokes. But when I first moved to the Crusaders, the whole subject of homosexuality seemed to be off limits, out of respect for me. I remember when Ricky Martin came out as gay, someone mentioned it and somebody else changed the subject at once.

Then one day the captain Ryan O’Hara asked me “Is it okay if the boys ask you about your story?” That was a huge relief. Until that moment everyone was stepping on eggshells, but now I could be part of the banter like anyone else.

When I made my announcement, I never thought that I would become a crusader in a different sense, trying to make life better for other people. I did make a pact at the start that I would reply to every letter and e-mail but that became an impossibility, because I get 50 or 60 most weeks. I do read every one.

I had a lovely letter from someone who said: “What you did shows that the tide is turning, but it’s still a long way from shore.” I think that is right, and the more people – and more public figures – who stand up and say “I’m comfortable with who I am”, the faster it will happen. Most sports people don’t realise what big role models they are.

Steven Davies’ case shows that more sports people are finding they are accepted, especially within their own teams. But as much as people’s views are changing for the better, there is always someone out there who is willing to hate. I have letters from people playing at the grassroots level, and they say “It is really tough for us”.

The people who live in the gay communities of London or Manchester often say there is no problem. They don’t see the sort of person I was, a guy playing rugby in a village of a couple of hundred people. That’s the worst-case scenario.

I used to be fearful of the crowd and what they would say. I got abused once or twice, especially once I had split from Gemma and the rumours were rife. It is not a nice feeling to know that people have got ammunition to use against you.

When you are a professional sportsman you have to be 100 per cent in the moment, and I know that I played many years of 90 per cent in the moment and 10 per cent listening to the crowd.

That’s why it’s good for young sports people to come out early and be the best they possibly can through their career.

There comes a point where you think that the whole world is against you, and then you say to yourself “I can carry on in this dark little world or I can be honest with everybody and live the life I want.”

I made the announcement on the morning of a match in Toulouse. I was anxious, but the reception I received made me feel really special. It showed that rugby is the game that I always hoped it was.

There was one incident, during my first away game in rugby league, where a section of Castleford fans chanted abuse at me. But they were reported by other Castleford fans and the RFL banned them and fined the club, demonstrating that rugby league is a game for everyone.

The ECB should send out its own message that Steven must be respected, then there won’t be any abuse. You wouldn’t tolerate racism so why would you tolerate any other kind of discrimination?

I know top sporting people all over the world who live in fear, but the timing has to be right for them to come out. In some countries homosexuality is illegal. Even in the UK, there is still a stigma.

When I came out I said I didn’t want to be known as the gay rugby player, but I’ve learned since then that I am a gay rugby player. Now, if someone turned around in the crowd and said “Thomas, you’re gay” then I would say “Yes, I know I am, I told the world didn’t I?”

I have nothing to be afraid of any more because no words can offend me. When you can be 100 per cent honest with everyone, it makes you a better person, and a better player.

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2010 Ashes: Steven Finn the England awaits many Australian crowds "chat rooms"

Ready for action: Middlesex paceman Steven Finn expects some debates moderated by the crowd home photo: PA

Finn, got that off to a slow start in England in Perth, six-wicket victory last but improved week for his first match the antipodes has also had his first taste of interaction with the Australia supporters.

England completed their preparations for second warm-up match tomorrow against Australia South to Adelaide, Finn is already well aware that it can expect the same as the ashes are still larger.

IP 6 8in seamer spoke welcome England heat received so far. But to the suggestion that there may be a few more remarks in order soon, he said: "" I'm sure there will be, and we are ready to do so.""

It is not necessarily a problem for him either. "We copped a little bit of abuse at the WACA week this last round last", he added. " This is something that we are prepared for, we will adopt and we will try to take advantage.

"Unworkable is good – make sure that we are accessible as people, we are human beings humans as well, and everyone has had a sense of humor."

"You see the funny side when people are chirping you."It is part of what we have to expect that the international cricketers and be able to deal with the important.»

Finn was less amused by his first period against Western Australia when he appeared fight keep balance in the fold and pitched over alarmingly both.

Quickly, he overcame the problem and was satisfied with his performance at the end of the apparatus for three days.

"I've slipped around the bought in the first round a bit - but I don't want to make an apology."

"I'm not the kind of person who will sit there and say that this is because the elective I complete bowling."

"He could contribuer.Mais I do well Bowl in my first period and during three or four too - which is something I don't want to do in Australia.".

"I adapted and successfully Bowl lengths mieux.Il is important that process happens quickly in the future."

Finn is ready to cut downtime, but not too much.

"I've been satisfied how I've reversed towards the end of the first round", he said.

"It was the first time that I was not satisfied at all the."

"I am 21 years old and understand that I will now be incompatible all encore.Mais it is important that I not solve that and I try to make myself better every time that I leave and Bowl - and learn each time too."

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The ashes of 2010: Steven Finn expects bore Australian drummers to submit

Line and length: rookie fast bowler England Steve Finn has worked hard on its consistency photo: GETTY IMAGES

But Finnish does not correspond to the stereotype as easily as some, which could be the reason for which it envisages boring instead of beaters gasping for air during the ashes.

A led bowler, measuring 6 feet today in his socks, Finn is a spectacle for any drummer when it closes at 22 yards with a ball in the main.Pourtant, his idols are Glenn McGrath and Angus Fraser, a couple who was hardly express rate. What they have in common was a determination would not concede tracks out of their own game of bowling.

"I had a good few conversations at lunch with"Gus"before I came here and the piece of advice he gave me bore out mixers," said Finnish. "Consistency is essential and it has encouraged me to be boring and it is something that I want to be.

Finn is 21 and still raw, but is there a danger, it is sensible before his time?The England teams have sent young fast bowling as Bob Willis, Graham Dilley and Phil DeFreitas Australia before, with mixed success, but are - not right that they should be relieved of responsibility and said simply Bowl as quickly as possible?

Perhaps professionalism increased the game these days means that look more mature representations fully formed of young players, but the line and length certainly isn't to asses the loader.

This may seem conclusive, but there are many facets to be a player quick success. Finn watching the net by Wednesday, it was not immediately obvious why he was ahead of Chris Tremlett, another giant, dans l'ordre hiérarchique.Alors Tremlett Andrew Strauss ducking and diving, Finn struggled with his pace to settle in a bowl out decent against Ian Bell.

In terms of a talent for rhythm, Finn Tremlett and Steve Harmison behind, though can accelerate that reinforce its tendons.Mais so fast bowling is how the hearts and minds reacts when the situation gets tough, as Australia.These features will be the most important.

Fortunately, Finn has both in depth. In fact it is because of them that, by his own admission, he said it is uncertain whether it is ready for a series of ash.

"I don't know what it takes to play in a series of ash and realistic, I later the player that I need to be regularly find success international cricket, said Finn."A team, we have prepared marvelously well but I approach with a young naive I think me will comply in good place.I am going to adopt to deal each game that I have done in the past and see where it takes me. »

If this appears to be jaded, simply rewind life Finn when last England tour here and have been bleached 5-0, to see what a strange form of form events contributed to lui.Finn was at school preparations for his A-levels in four years ago and while he admits that disrupted series revision, he did well enough to win a place at Loughborough, a place he was 24 hours take place when he decided to defy his mom and play professional cricket instead of this.

"I had a place to read sports science, was a further course but cancelled day to play cricket, said Finn."MOM wanted me to go to the University because it is not clear whether could even become a successful county cricket player then, as I was 18 years old.But the father was like "do you want".but they did not put pressure on me and has left me the decision.»

You must be a curmudgeon or an educator to say that it was not the personne.Finn enjoys a good, free from injury started his career in England with 32 ATMs in eight essais.Mais if this tally has been strengthened by bowling against bad sides frappeurs seamer conditions print, there are a reality in Perth last weekend against the Warriors Retravision.Un start diverting there were the Australian media and the wags into the crowd giving a stick although it improved by the game of bowling with rhythm and purpose in the second round.

His studies of ash continues with the current game against West End Redbacks at Adelaide, but no grant may be made to learning curves in testing if, as seems likely, England opt for four men bowling attack.

"I cannot offer to move to three-and-a-half to four tracks one as that nui to me and the team", said Finnish. "It is important that I'm consistent is something that I have worked hard on becoming stronger in the last three or four weeks.»

Finn efforts may be ever doubted, there is always a risk-reward equation when pitching young launchers rhythm in a series of cendres.Si they bomb, they can find in darkness .the paper which is so well, it typically sets their for a successful career, something England all fans hope hit Finn, if he holes or not.

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Alan Hansford is finally able to pass the baton on to 'brave' Steven Davies after England cricketer announces he is gay

His words, delivered in a gentle voice that belies his bruiser-like physique, make uncomfortable reading for cricket. The sport is fond of styling itself as tolerant – at least in comparison to English football, whose abortive anti-homophobia initiative last year drew not a single player’s voice in support – and yet Hansford’s tale serves up compelling evidence to the contrary.

James Anderson, emblem of England’s triumphant Ashes bowling attack, appeared stripped to the waist last September on the front cover of Attitude, the gay lifestyle magazine. The MCC blazers may have spluttered into their breakfast coffee but here, ostensibly, was the assertion of the modern metrosexual man in a game often hidebound by tradition.

Only Hansford is dismissive. “I heard it claimed that Anderson was brave, but I fundamentally disagree. It was a vanity trip. Both his agent and his wife are referred to in the article. It would have had much more impact if he had said, ‘Let’s give the gay community some support’.”

Hansford, working nine to five as financial controller of an office suppliers company in mid-Sussex, analogises his experience as that of a first-leg relay runner. After more than a decade ‘out’ he is finally handing over the baton to Davies. But he does not downplay the claustrophobia of cricket, or the ordeal of being gay in a straight man’s world.

“Freddie Flintoff has made quite a few comments on Twitter that are not homophobic exactly, but clearly designed to produce a cheap laugh. When England were in Australia this winter, he joked about Michael Vaughan and Matthew Hoggard sharing accommodation. So there’s always this dig about being gay. Maybe I’m more sensitive, but I don’t like it.

“Cricket is a special case if you’re gay, because the game can go on for four or five days together and to this day, junior county players share rooms. I still maintain as a young gay guy playing cricket, room-sharing with fit young men on a regular basis is tricky. You’re showering together on a regular basis, travelling around the country with each other.

“If you’re gay and you find others in your sport attractive, you have to be pretty bloody strong to keep your hands to yourself, particularly if you have a few beers inside you.”

Hansford reached his apogee as part of a Combined Universities side captained by Mike Atherton, advancing to the quarter-finals of the Benson & Hedges Cup in 1989, and later claimed the wicket of the former England captain while playing for Sussex. In a recent letter to Atherton, he wrote: “There can’t be too many gay accountants who dismissed you twice in a first-class match”. But to be content in his own skin, Hansford needed to move beyond cricket’s culture of off-the-field bravado.

“It took quite a few years for that to happen. I would go out with the boys after matches, drinking, clubbing, picking up the girls. Peer pressure is quite a suffocating and powerful influence. You have to fit in. It wouldn’t make so much of a difference on the field of play. It’s how you conduct yourself off it. If you’re lecherous towards team-mates in the showers, there’s potential for issues.”

Hansford’s private turmoil displays parallels with that of John Amaechi, the gay British veteran of American basketball, who insists it would be easier for any homosexual Premier League footballers to stay silent. Those who did come out would, he warns, find themselves “burned at the stake” in dressing rooms.

Amaechi knows what he is talking about: in Florida, Utah and Texas, three of the states he worked in, he could have been fired for being gay.

Of Amaechi, Hansford and Gareth Thomas, the former British and Irish Lion who in 2009 was the first active male sportsman to out himself, only Hansford has been a trailblazer for contemporaries to follow suit. In the amateur sphere, acceptance is broader, as illustrated by the creation of Stonewall football club, Kings Cross Steelers rugby club and Grace’s cricket club, all based in London and all with exclusively gay membership. But the end of the gay man’s pariah status in elite sport rests, Hansford contends, with the footballers.

“My view on footballers’ reluctance to come out has to do with the effect on their income streams. If you play professional football to a high level, it’s probably quite tough to decide. Even the fans are not as much of a problem as your income. Look at Hollywood: there are still relatively few gay actors. But I believe, if you’re sufficiently good at your sport, you have respect for that on its own, and that this should carry through.

“It’s when a young professional team sportsman comes out that there will be a trigger. You won’t get an avalanche of others doing the same, but you will get some. From a PR point of view, they could it turn it the other way around. It’s quite a pleasant niche, I would have thought, to be the first league footballer to be out. Plus, the older you get, the thicker-skinned you are.”

But the cause is hardly helped when Sepp Blatter, president of Fifa, jests that any gay visitors to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar – where homosexuality is illegal – should refrain from having sex. “He’s an old man,” Hansford says of the 74 year-old. “It’s a different generation. It’s the cricketers who are older than me who perhaps have turned their heads occasionally or avoided eye contact.”

Hansford has also endured traumas closer to home on the subject, not least in the break-up of his three-year marriage to Tina. He is hesitant about discussing this, but mentions that they have since been reconciled and meet regularly for lunch. But in his lifestyle he is, belatedly, liberated.

“After my wife and I separated, I moved to London. And I didn’t merely come out of the closet, I broke the ------- door down. I did all the pubs and clubs, fuelled by booze, although I have never taken a drug in my life. But later I went back to be with my parents, where I still am. I’m very happy.”

Life in Ladbroke Grove, close to a thriving Nineties gay scene in Earls Court, was, Hansford says, chaotic. “I’ve got quite an obsessive-compulsive personality, so I left there to discipline myself a bit better. There are a lot of chances to enjoy yourself in London as a young gay man.

“I’ve got a good balance now, where I live in Sussex, but can nip into London or Brighton. That’s the way the gay scene is going. You don’t need to have your separate pockets any more, your secret underworld existence. The daytime scene has gone to Soho, and the clubs to Vauxhall. I don’t go clubbing any longer. Instead it’s a drink on a Saturday afternoon.”

But does cricket, harbouring as it does so many torturous memories for Hansford, find a place? “Only the social side of it. I haven’t played any cricket at all since 1998.” He pauses. “That coincides with me coming out, strangely enough.”

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