Cricket can become 'most inclusive sport' following damning report, says ECB

By Joe Wardropper, ITV News Sports Producer

The governing body for cricket in England and Wales says it has accepted a majority of recommendations set out in a landmark report which branded the sport "elitist and exclusionary".

The Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC), published in June, identified "deep-rooted" racism and sexism, with women treated as "second-class citizens."

Announcing a host of reforms, Richard Gould, chief executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), said he hoped to make cricket "the most inclusive sport".

The ECB promised to expand diversity training to improve "racial literacy in the game’s leadership" and announced an annual investment of £25m to grow women’s cricket.

It also announced the creation of an independent regulator and the formation of action plans to increase participation in Black and South Asian communities.

The ECB had already issued an unreserved apology for leadership failings, and announced equal match fees for England’s men and women, as recommended by ICEC.

The governing body said it would deliver on 96% of the recommendations in the ICEC review, but acknowledged that it could not commit to equal match fees for men and women in the domestic game.

Gould also admitted that access to cricket in state schools was a "real problem" which would require government support.

But Azeem Rafiq, whose complaints of abuse at Yorkshire sparked the racism scandal which engulfed the sport, told ITV News he was ‘disappointed’ by the ECB’s response, and believes reform will be met with resistance in some parts of the game.

"Cricket has a feeling that it’s been hard done by", he said. "The acceptance level is just not there."

"They [the ECB] have got no choice but to accept a report which they commissioned, where there is so much proof and data," he said.

"Tomorrow, the world will move on. The Cricket World Cup will start in a week's time… Are they going to stop what happened in the dressing room to me? I’m still getting phone calls from people inside the game", he added.

"We want our kids to be dropped off and go to cricket and feel like they’re safe… I’m just frustrated."

Stuart Andrew, the Sports Minister, said he was "encouraged by the concrete actions set out by the ECB, such as the investment being made in the women’s game."

"We will closely watch if, and how, these new measures make the sport more inclusive", he added.

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