ECB Cricket: ECB launches anti-racism plan after Azeem Rafiq ‘earthquake’- English cricket’s top administrator said the sport had been hit by an “earthquake” as he announced an anti-racism action plan on Friday in response to the Azeem Rafiq scandal.
ECB Cricket: The 12 measures unveiled by the England and Wales Cricket Board include a review of dressing-room culture, action to help non-white and less privileged players pursue careers in the game and a commitment to increased diversity on county boards.
“The last few weeks have been very, very tough for cricket,” ECB chief executive Tom Harrison told a news conference. “It feels like an earthquake has hit us.
ECB launches anti-racism plan after Azeem Rafiq ‘earthquake’
“The most damning part of Azeem’s testimony is that he didn’t want his son to be part of the game. That is, for someone in my job, the most difficult thing you can hear.”
Pakistan-born former cricketer Rafiq gave harrowing testimony to lawmakers last month where he said his career had been ended by the racist abuse he received while at leading English county Yorkshire.
ECB launches anti-racism plan after Azeem Rafiq ‘earthquake’
The measures agreed include a series of immediate changes as well as the instigation of a review period that will incorporate the work of the ICEC and other inquiries into discrimination in cricket. The initial aims include:
1. Adoption within three months of a standardised approach to reporting, investigating, and responding to complaints, allegations, and whistleblowing across the game.
2. Full promotion of the aims of the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC) through proactive engagement with its investigations and recommendations.
3. Ongoing EDI training for all those who work in cricket, including all staff, volunteers, recreational club officials, umpires, directors, and coaches.
4. A full review of dressing room culture in all men’s and women’s professional teams, both domestic and international.
5. Delivery of a redesigned programme of player and coach education, addressing any gaps identified through the dressing room review.
6. Action to aid progress into professional teams of people from diverse backgrounds (especially South Asian, Black and less privileged youngsters) through measures to address i) talent identification and scouting, ii) education and diversity of coaches and iii) targeted support programmes for players from diverse or underprivileged backgrounds.
7. A full-scale review, in advance of the 2022 season, into the detection, enforcement, and sanctions against discriminatory and abusive crowd behaviour at each of our professional cricket grounds.
8. Delivery of plans (tailored to local communities) to ensure professional cricket venues are welcoming to all, including provision of accessible seating, food and beverage offering catering to all faiths and cultures, and the availability of facilities such as multi-faith rooms and alcohol-free zones.
9. Upgraded education in recreational cricket to ensure players, volunteers and coaches understand and champion inclusion and diversity in the game.
The ECB will also publish its 2021-2023 Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Action Plan with clear actions and targets. The ECB will then work with any of its members who do not yet have an EDI plan in place to create (or revise) their own localised version within six months, with actions to include:
10. A commitment to best practice governance with targets for Board diversity (30% female, locally representative ethnicity by April 2022) and plans to increase diversity across the wider organisation. (Compliance will be subject to a “comply or explain” provision to ensure Counties can respect their own governance processes in making the required change).
11. The introduction of fairer recruitment processes through measures including the immediate adoption of anonymised recruitment tools for senior roles, open appointment processes for all roles and the use of balanced and diverse panels to assess interviews.
12. Every senior executive employed across the game will have personal EDI objectives as part of their annual performance targets, driving leadership accountability.
To be transparent and build trust, the game will provide regular updates on progress against the delivery of the action plan and EDI goals. To underpin the actions being taken across the cricket network, the ECB has committed to providing additional resources and taking several further steps in support of consistent progress across the game.
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