According to a press release by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), they reaffirmed their commitment to root out all forms of discrimination from cricket in an announcement on Wednesday.
Across the professional game, a new Anti-Discrimination Code of Conduct will be in place and it will also be rolled out across recreational series and clubs that fall under the jurisdiction of ECB as the season gets underway. This will make sure that any instance of discrimination can be subjected to sanctions and disciplinary processes.
The Anti-Discrimination Code of Conduct's implementation will build upon efforts the ECB has undertaken in order to tackle discrimination along with promoting greater inclusion and diversity throughout the game.
During the course of the last six months, these actions include:
-The creation of the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket, which will examine all issues relating to race and equity in cricket.
-A partnership with the PCA to deliver an anti-racism education programme to professional cricketers, academy players, coaches and support staff. The programme, which has already been rolled out to 917 people across 65 sessions, raises awareness of cultural differences and unconscious bias specifically in the context of racism in professional cricket, and addresses issues such as workplace banter and inappropriate non-verbal behaviour.
-The creation of bursaries to help increase diversity among coaches across the game by enabling people from under-represented groups to gain qualifications. To date, 10 bursaries have been awarded on the advanced and specialist coaching courses and 1,000 on the Foundation course.
-A re-evaluation of the way in which ECB attracts, develops and performance manages its match officials, in order to increase the diversity of our officiating, inspire the next generation of umpires and match referees and ensure a culture of inclusivity and fairness throughout.
The ECB in the upcoming months, will carry on its existing work with a variety of new initiatives to make the game more diverse and inclusive along with providing a clear framework to stamp out discrimination.
Tom Harrison, ECB Chief Executive Officer said: “We remain absolutely committed in our resolve to stamp out any form of discrimination and to make the game more inclusive and diverse.
“The new Anti-Discrimination Code of Conduct sends a clear message that any discriminatory behaviour will be dealt with through disciplinary processes and sanctions. Over the coming months, we will build on the actions already taken to launch a number of new initiatives that will help us in our next step towards making cricket a truly inclusive and diverse sport.”
The ECB acknowledges the fact that the support from professional players will be important in ensuring that this message remains visible along with providing a platform to increase awareness and encourage other related efforts and initiatives over the course of the season.
After consultation with the PCA, player representatives from the men's and women’s game and First-Class Counties, an agreement has been reached that players will be asked to support a moment of unity before the start of the game at particular points throughout the course of the season.
The morning of the start of the LV= Insurance County Championship on 8 April will be the first of the planned moments of unity.
The intention is, these moments will provide a point wherein the game comes together and expresses it's solidarity and commitment to uproot any type of discrimination from cricket. It will be upto Individual teams and players as to how they choose to take part and show support for this important message.
