GEORGE DOBELL: The commission is scheduled to publish its report, which has received thousands of responses, within the next few weeks and is set to call for the first-class counties to “show that we get it"
The ECB is preparing to issue "an apology on behalf of cricket" for "structural issues that have excluded people from the game".
They are currently notifying stakeholders, such as the first-class counties, that it is preparing to issue the statement in the aftermath of the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC) report.
The commission, formed in the wake of global movements such as Black Lives Matter and #MeToo, is scheduled to publish its report within the next few weeks. It is expected to provide an unflattering insight into the game's record on issues of race, gender and class.
But while the game is braced for an "intense period of scrutiny", a "high degree of government criticism" and an "impact of staff morale and wellbeing", the first-class counties are being urged by the ECB to “show that we get it", show "empathy to those impacted" and "avoid seeming like we're denying other people's experiences".
The experiences of many, including Azeem Rafiq, triggered the ICEC report in March 2021 (Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images)
Instead, the ECB will welcome the report and "acknowledge that change is needed" within the game. An action plan will also be announced which will give the game 100 days to "work together on actions and changes".
The information, in a briefing given to first-class county chairs, also includes a definition of "institutional racism" in an apparent bid to prepare the counties for such a conclusion in the report.
But it makes it clear that this conclusion should not be interpreted as suggesting that everyone in cricket is racist.
"People and organisations who are not racist (or sexist, or elitist) themselves can still create behaviours, processes and systems that perpetuate bias or disadvantage minority groups," the briefing document states.
ECB chair Richard Thompson believes the next few months will be challenging for the game (Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)
"This might be where the system is not inclusive by design, or where power is concentrated in one group.
"We may not feel we are discriminatory or racist ourselves, but we know that discrimination or exclusion does happen - and the ICEC will point out if and where it happens in cricket."
While every witness to the report is anonymous and no individual or specific counties will be named, the ECB are warning the counties over the potential for "additional complaints and testimonies becoming public" in subsequent weeks.
There is also a strong possibility that there will be further legal action taken by individuals making claims of discrimination against cricketing institutions in the coming months.
Posted by Duncan Ellis on 01/02/2023 at 16:13
What briefings have been given (by ICEC/ECB) to recreational cricket leaders? They may earn less money than County Chairs, who have had a briefing, George reports. But the recreational leaders have more cats to herd to fix this problem. And only a volunteer workforce to do so! And probably by definition a more widespread problem... as there are more recreational players than pros... and no HR departments!
Posted by Duncan Ellis on 01/02/2023 at 16:07
There are 4,000 pieces of evidence in front of ICEC it is reliably reported. The very nature of the cricket pyramid makes it almost inevitable that the majority relate to the recreational game as that is where the majority of people play the majority of cricket. What briefings have been given (by ICEC/ECB) to recreational cricket leaders. They may earn less money than County Chairs. But they have more cats to herd to fix this problem. And only a volunteer workforce to do so! And probably more problematic incidents reported (I.e. a more widespread problem)!
Posted by Mark Upton on 03/01/2023 at 16:28
As a former professional cricketer who played in the late sixties and early seventies and then top amateur cricket for the next 30 years with all nationalities and colours I can honestly say that no racism existed in the game and this report is a complete disgrace and typical of how our wokeism society is bowing to a small minority
Posted by John Birch on 03/01/2023 at 10:31
The clues have been there for a long time. Just looking at the bias in the social and educational background of professional players suggests that the game is not as inclusive as it could be. And, because of the way the population is, any class bias will also appear as a racial bias. It is a great pity that it may have taken accusations of racism for the ECB to take the problem seriously. It will not be easy to solve. The professional game has become more and more exclusive, played by a narrower and narrower part of society, in my lifetime.
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