English cricket branded ‘racist, sexist and elitist’ in damning report as ECB apologises

English cricket stands accused of being racist, sexist and elitist at its core in a damning report that immediately forced an unreserved apology from authorities.

In its landmark 316-page review, the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket demands “urgent reform” while laying bare deep-rooted discrimination across the game.

In an attack on failures in the game, the report finds “the systems that cricket has in place for handling allegations of discrimination are unfit for purpose”. The England and Wales Cricket Board accepts the findings will “shock and disappoint many”.

Among 44 separate recommendations for the ECB, the report took aim at the sport’s establishment, by finding:

• Women have been abandoned as “second-class citizens”, routinely experiencing misogyny with “unequal access, pay and treatment”.

• As a result, the ECB must oversee equal pay on average at domestic level by 2029 and international by 2030.

• Dominance of private schools in cricket’s talent pathway plays a key role in determining “discriminatory outcomes across the game”.

• On that basis, MCC should scrap the annual fixtures between Eton and Harrow as well as Oxford and Cambridge at Lord’s.

• Racism is “entrenched”, with 75 per cent of black and more than 80 per cent of Asian cricketers experiencing discrimination.

• Cricket’s complaints systems are “confusing”, “overly defensive” and “not fit for purpose” for both victims and those accused.

More than 4,000 people responded to the ICEC’s call for evidence over the past two and a half years, with one in two saying they had experienced discrimination. A “prevalence of an elitist and exclusionary culture” is detailed in the report, which includes a foreword from Sir John Major – who appointed the five-person Commission under instruction by the ECB – calling for “a path towards opening up cricket to all those currently excluded”.

The authors, who began their work in 2021 amidst the Azeem Rafiq racism furore, added they had overruled those in the game who encouraged them via a survey “not to bow to the scourge of wokeness”. “We are clear, as a commission, that racism in cricket is not confined to ‘pockets’ or ‘a few bad apples’, nor is it limited to individual incidents of misconduct,” the report adds.

The report, called ‘Holding Up A Mirror To Cricket’, identifies a “gulf” in perceptions within the sport between “white, middle-class men”, who are described as Type K, and all other groups.

“The extent of the disconnect between the views of Type K and marginalised groups in cricket is a theme that runs throughout our report,” the authors added.

However, amid much criticism about the way the Rafiq scandal was handled by authorities, the report also said those accused of wrongdoing also deserve assurances they would face a fair trial.

Included in recommendations are potential changes to the Cricket Discipline Commission, with the review ruling “failures of the regulatory processes have contributed significantly to the crisis that the game is currently facing”. “The phrase ‘marking your own homework’ was often used in evidence to us,” the report adds.

With the ECB urged by the panel to make an “unqualified public apology for its own failings and those of the game it governs”, the governing body’s chair, Richard Thompson, immediately said sorry and pledged in a letter to ICEC chair Cindy Butts: “We will use this moment to reset cricket.”

Richard Gould, the ECB’s chief executive, later admitted “we know that the results will shock and disappoint many”. The conclusion of the major inquiry led by Butts was billed as the final milestone following multiple investigations into discrimination within the sport in recent years. However, Gould concedes there is now a “large job to do and that’s going to start with a game-wide consultation”.

The report found game-wide confusion over how the regulatory system in regard to equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) worked, and highlighted the ECB’s dual role as a promoter and regulator as a “conflict of interest”.

“Our findings are unequivocal,” said Butts, who previously served as deputy chair of the Metropolitan Police Authority in the wake of racism findings against the force after the death of Stephen Lawrence. “Racism, class-based discrimination, elitism and sexism are widespread and deep-rooted. The game must face up to the fact that it’s not banter or just a few bad apples....The stark reality is cricket is not a game for everyone.”

In regard to the women’s game, she questioned why the England team is yet to play a Test Match at Lord’s. She also attacked the natural advantages for cricketers at private schools. “If you attend a state school, you’re less likely to have access to cricket and have the same opportunity to progress in the game as your private school peers,” she added. “For those who do ‘make it’ we were saddened to hear they were sometimes subjected to class-based discrimination. Cricket needs to urgently level the playing field.”

The report adds that it accepts “some people may roll their eyes at the perceived ‘wokeness’ of this work”. “However, as much as the word may have been weaponised in recent years, taking on a pejorative meaning, we consider – and it is often defined as such – that being ‘woke’ or doing ‘woke work’ simply means being alive to injustice,” the authors add. “Such an awareness of injustice is a good thing, reflecting how we want society to operate, and our children to behave.”

Butts did highlight that the report had found “encouraging examples of good practice” and congratulated the ECB for being “brave enough” to commission the report in the first place.

Butts added: “We have confidence in the ECB’s new leadership and their ability to take our recommendations forward – the proof will be demonstrable change.”

Dr Seema Patel, who sat on the CDC panel that heard the case brought by the ECB on behalf of Rafiq, welcomed the findings from her perspective as a senior lecturer in law and discrimination in sport expert at Nottingham Law School.

She told Telegraph Sport: “In my academic view, if the report contributes to greater equality, improved diversity and wider inclusionary practices in all areas of cricket, it will be a welcomed and valuable resource for the sport.”

Dame Caroline Dinenage, chair of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, said: “The volume of evidence, not only of racial discrimination but also of sexism and elitism, is unacceptable in a sport that should be for everyone, and must now be a catalyst for change.

“The test now for the new leadership of the ECB is to ensure the whole sport is a welcome and inclusive place for all. We welcome their recognition of the need to reset, and look forward to making sure they follow through on their commitments.”

After evidence from thousands of survey respondents and 126 organisations, the key findings included:

Women treated as “second-class citizens”

Women are “subordinate” to men within cricket, and treated as “second-class citizens” within the game. “An embarrassingly small amount” is paid to women compared to men, with the ICEC saying it had “credible evidence” that the average salary for England Women was 20.6 per cent of that received by their male counterparts in white-ball cricket – though the ECB considers this figure to be up to 30 per cent. The report recommended equal pay on average at domestic level by 2029 and at international level by 2030.

Three in four players from ethnic backgrounds experienced discrimination

Whilst 50 per cent of the more than 4,000 individual respondents described experiencing discrimination in the previous five years, the figures were substantially higher for people from ethnically diverse communities: 87 per cent of people with Pakistani and Bangladeshi heritage, 82 per cent of people with Indian heritage and 75 per cent of all black respondents. The ECB must also develop an action plan to “revive” black cricket, through financial support and targeted community programmes, the report added.

‘Annual Eton v Harrow match should be moved from 2024’

MCC should move the annual matches between Eton and Harrow and Oxford and Cambridge away from Lord’s after this year, to be replaced by national finals days for state schools. Private schools dominate the pathway into cricket, and little to no action has been taken to address class barriers within the sport, the report adds. There is scarce provision of cricket in state schools and people from lower socio-economic groups face “substantial cost barriers” to participating in the sport.

Radical overhaul of CDC process

The complaints system is “confusing, overly defensive and unfit for purpose”. It found profound mistrust from, and a lack of support for, victims and those accused of discrimination. There is also confusion around how the regulatory system works on equity, diversity and inclusion . The report calls for a regulator independent of the ECB to be set up, highlighting that the ECB’s dual role as promoter and regulator creates the potential for conflicts of interest.