ECB's responds to the ICEC report
Lancashire Cricket is fully aware of its responsibility – along with the entirety of English Cricket – to ensure that our game takes every step possible to eradicate discrimination. As a leading County Club, we have committed to a wide-ranging action plan to tackle racism and promote inclusion and diversity at all levels of the game.
The Club welcomes the ECB's response to the ICEC Report today (Monday 25 September), which includes the below:
- Enhanced EDI education and setting new values and behaviours for the ECB to help create a game-wide transformation in culture.
- Investing a minimum of £25m per year above forecasted women’s revenues to further grow the women’s and girls’ game at every level during the current broadcast cycle (which runs until 2028).
- Introducing further independence in our regulatory processes by establishing a new Cricket Regulator, overseen by an independent Cricket Regulatory Board - and ring-fenced from the rest of the ECB - which will be responsible for enforcement of regulations and carrying out investigations.
- Increasing match fees for England Women to equalise them with England Men, and tripling the number of girls’ club teams by 2026.
- Working with partners in the wider game to design an enhanced and expanded Talent Pathway that aims to remove barriers and increase opportunity. Our aim is that by 2025, finance will not be a barrier for Talent Pathway participants.
- Developing Action Plans, as requested by the ICEC, to tackle barriers for state school pupils and Black and other Ethnically Diverse communities.
- Investing an extra £2m into charity partners to boost their work in breaking down barriers, particularly for state school, Black and British South Asian children and young people – the African Caribbean Engagement (ACE) Programme, Chance to Shine, Lord’s Taverners, MCC Foundation and South Asian Cricket Academy (SACA).
- Developing a game-wide Volunteering Strategy and integrating key EDI principles into training.
- Providing support and training across the cricket network to enhance understanding of discrimination and the management of complaints across the cricket network, as well as launching a charter setting out clear expectations of both complainants and the investigating body to ensure a fair and transparent outcome for all.
- Adding victimisation as an offence in the Anti-Discrimination Code.
- Including enhanced EDI standards in the next County Partnership Agreements (CPAs) from 2025, and adding more ambitious County Board targets for gender diversity and ethnic diversity based on local demographics. Venues hosting major matches will be assessed against their performance against EDI minimum
To read the ECB’s response please click here and here.
To read Lancashire Cricket's initial response to the ICEC report, click here. To find out more about the Club's EDI action plan click here.