Lancashire Cricket commends landmark report on discrimination in cricket
Lancashire Cricket has welcomed the publication of The Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC) report and has reiterated its commitment to continued action on these important issues, to create a better environment for everyone involved in the game.
The ICEC - which was formed by the England & Wales Cricket Board in March 2021 - investigated the state of equity in cricket and found that structural and institutional racism, sexism and class-based discrimination continues to exist across the game.
It made 44 recommendations to the ECB with the aim of making cricket more representative, as the ICEC calls for decisive action to tackle discrimination, remove barriers and reform the game to make cricket more inclusive.
The report examined trends and insights from an online survey which captured the experiences of 4,000 people in cricket. The ICEC also met with over 70 individuals and organisations and collected over 550 documents from cricketing bodies and experts over a nine-month period.
No specific clubs or individuals have been identified in the report and evidential accounts have been provided anonymously. If any disclosures are made to Lancashire Cricket on the back of this week’s report, the Club will deal them in a sensitive, rigorous, confidential and timely manner. Furthermore, if anyone wishes to report any discrimination at Emirates Old Trafford, our dedicated email address is: equality@lancashirecricket.co.uk.
Commenting on the report, which the Club received at the same time as it was released to the public earlier this week, Lancashire Cricket Chair, Andy Anson, said: “We welcome the publication of the ICEC report, which lays bare the scale of the historic, structural issues that have negatively impacted and excluded people from our game. As a sport, cricket must accept responsibility for this and ensure that discrimination of any kind is eradicated at all levels.
“The ECB have publicly apologised on behalf of the game and we all acknowledge that more action is required to tackle discrimination in the sport. They have also confirmed that reforms will be agreed within three months, working with representatives from across the game, to agree a plan of action in line with the ICEC’s recommendations.
“As a Club, we commend the courage and bravery of those that have shared evidence with the ICEC and who want to help the game to be equitable, diverse and inclusive. We are fully aware of our responsibility – along with the everyone involved in English Cricket – to ensure that we take every step possible to remove all forms discrimination.
“Over the past 24 months, we have worked hard on our own Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity (EDI) framework to ensure that Lancashire Cricket is making a difference to the community we serve. We are also implementing a very clear 10-point action plan to establish long-term and tangible change. We know that a lot of good work has been carried out over the last couple of years, but this must only strengthen our determination to go further and address the issues which remain.
“We recognise this approach cannot just be about words on paper – we need to take actions which demonstrate that we are on the road to creating a better environment for everyone who is or who wants to be involved in cricket.”
Lancashire Cricket is committed to tackling all forms of discrimination, whilst promoting inclusion and diversity at all levels of the game across the North West, covering recreational and elite cricket. Following on from the publication of the Club’s EDI Action Plan, the ECB have recognised Lancashire Cricket’s efforts and strong work in tackling all forms of discrimination over the past two years. For more information about Lancashire Cricket’s EDI journey and framework, click here.