Institutional racism and sexism infects English cricket, says report

Institutional racism, sexism and class-based discrimination continue to infect English cricket, a report published by Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket on Tuesday has found.

Among its findings, racism was “entrenched” in the English game, women were treated as “second-class citizens,” and cricket was a rare option in state schools.

Then, if anybody wanted to complain about the problems, the ICEC says the system was confusing and not fit for purpose.

The report calls for “decisive action,” and makes 44 recommendations and a number of sub-recommendations.

The ECB said some reforms could be “implemented swiftly” but others would require "fundamental, longer-term changes to cricket in England and Wales, and its funding model.”

England and Wales Cricket Board chair Richard Thompson issued a public apology and described the report as a “wake-up call.”

“I apologise unreservedly to anyone who has ever been excluded from cricket or made to feel like they don’t belong,” Thompson said. “Powerful conclusions within the report also highlight that for too long women and Black people were neglected. We are truly sorry for this."

English cricket was rocked in 2020 when former Yorkshire player Azeem Rafiq said he was a victim of racial harassment and bullying through two spells at the nation's most successful club from 2008-18.

During a tearful testimony at a parliamentary hearing in 2021, he spoke of the Islamophobia and bullying he was subjected to.

“Do I believe I lost my career to racism? Yes, I do,” Rafiq said at the hearing.

Rafiq welcomed the new report's finding, hailing the "extraordinary work" put into the inquiry to allow everyone involved in English cricket to reflect and improve. 

The ICEC was commissioned in November 2020