According to a press release by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), they have taken an important step in the direction of ensuring cricket remains a game for everyone as it appointed Cindy Butts to chair and set up the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket to examine issues pertaining to race and equity in the game. Butts has vast experience in senior roles including governance, inclusion and equity spanning the justice/policing sectors and Government. Her present duties include serving as a lay member of the House of Lords Conduct Committee, a lay member of the Speaker’s Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority along with being the Panel Chair for the Judicial Appointments Commission. She is also in the Board of Trustees of Kick It Out, an organization that aims for inclusion and equality in English football. She will be working to finalize the terms of reference for the Commission with the ECB Board. She will head the procedure to appoint a number of independent Commissioners who will bring further variety of thought, background and experience to the Commission. The Commission, whose formation was announced in November last year, will independently collect and examine the evidence of inequalities and discrimination of all forms within cricket and identify the actions the ECB will require to take to handle these issues. ECB’s Senior Independent Director Brenda Trenowden will lead the Board’s engagement with the Commission and will drive the Board’s work in inclusion, equality and diversity. Ian Watmore, Chair of the ECB, said: “The creation of the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket is an important step in our ambition to make cricket a game for everyone. Cindy is extremely well-qualified to lead this work and will bring empathy, rigour and practical experience to the deliberations and recommendations of the Commission.” Cindy Butts said: “I’m excited to be bringing together my lifelong love of cricket with my passion for equity and inclusion, to lead this work for the ECB. Over the coming months we will be looking to hear from a wide range of people who share a love of cricket, whether as spectators, players, coaches or administrators both present and past. “While it’s important we preserve the best of cricket’s traditions, it is also important we identify ways it can evolve and innovate to attract and welcome diverse communities who can make an impact in all areas and at all levels of the game. “I am committed to ensuring that cricket has a bright future in this country.”