A report made by the charity Plan4Sport found that Cricket Scotland had many accounts of racism that were left unanswered. They found that the governance and leadership of the governing body was institutionally racist.
Cricket Scotland is the governing body of the Cricket sport for all Scottish players. Originally, it started as a sub body of the England Cricket team, but in 1992, it broke off and formed Cricket Scotland. Two years later, they became members of the International Cricket Team. They often play near The Grange or Edinburgh in Britain. Their team has made it the World Cup three times.
In the report, there were 448 examples that demonstrated institutional racism. They also carried out an anonymous survey of Scottish cricket players which found that 62% of players were aware and reported incidents of racism, inequalities, or discrimination, and 34% had experienced racism firsthand (325 people total). 49 people also felt prejudice against them based on religion.
The report concluded with four main points. Cricket Scotland demonstrated a lack of equality, diversion, inclusion, or anti-racist training for staff, no consistent approach to handling racist incidents, lack of diversity in races, and a lack of transparency in the selection process. They also found ground for “concern over the perceived bias towards the recruitment of players from public schools over state schools.”
Shortly before the report was published, the entire Cricket Scotland board resigned, and apologized “to everyone who has experienced racism or any other form of discrimination, in cricket in Scotland.” A new governing board is being worked on, with at least 40% male and 40% female board members as well as 25% of members coming from an ethnic minority.
Of the players affected by the racism, the two most famous players are Majid Haw and Wasim Sheikh, who have both spoken publicly about being racially abused. Both have expressed that they would like a public apology. Sheikh stated, “I felt I was treated as a personal servant at times.”
Parvase Majeed was a former umpire for Western District Cricket Union, and also had to deal with racial discrimination. He says, “I’m much more conscious now of the color of my skin and the fact that… I’m born in this country but come from an immigrant background. I think that’s quite a damning statement for somebody who’s spent his whole life trying to integrate into society.”
The cricket body director Louise Tideswell also felt the racism and honored the “people who loved cricket and, despite the many knockbacks, continued to try and make progress, umpires who committed so many hours even though promotion never came, and players who saw or heard racism and hostility, but kept coming back to play.”
Sources:
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-62290554
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/jul/25/cricket-scotland-faces-special-measures-status-after-racism-report
Cricket Scotland is the governing body of the Cricket sport for all Scottish players. Originally, it started as a sub body of the England Cricket team, but in 1992, it broke off and formed Cricket Scotland. Two years later, they became members of the International Cricket Team. They often play near The Grange or Edinburgh in Britain. Their team has made it the World Cup three times.
In the report, there were 448 examples that demonstrated institutional racism. They also carried out an anonymous survey of Scottish cricket players which found that 62% of players were aware and reported incidents of racism, inequalities, or discrimination, and 34% had experienced racism firsthand (325 people total). 49 people also felt prejudice against them based on religion.
The report concluded with four main points. Cricket Scotland demonstrated a lack of equality, diversion, inclusion, or anti-racist training for staff, no consistent approach to handling racist incidents, lack of diversity in races, and a lack of transparency in the selection process. They also found ground for “concern over the perceived bias towards the recruitment of players from public schools over state schools.”
Shortly before the report was published, the entire Cricket Scotland board resigned, and apologized “to everyone who has experienced racism or any other form of discrimination, in cricket in Scotland.” A new governing board is being worked on, with at least 40% male and 40% female board members as well as 25% of members coming from an ethnic minority.
Of the players affected by the racism, the two most famous players are Majid Haw and Wasim Sheikh, who have both spoken publicly about being racially abused. Both have expressed that they would like a public apology. Sheikh stated, “I felt I was treated as a personal servant at times.”
Parvase Majeed was a former umpire for Western District Cricket Union, and also had to deal with racial discrimination. He says, “I’m much more conscious now of the color of my skin and the fact that… I’m born in this country but come from an immigrant background. I think that’s quite a damning statement for somebody who’s spent his whole life trying to integrate into society.”
The cricket body director Louise Tideswell also felt the racism and honored the “people who loved cricket and, despite the many knockbacks, continued to try and make progress, umpires who committed so many hours even though promotion never came, and players who saw or heard racism and hostility, but kept coming back to play.”
Sources:
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-62290554
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/jul/25/cricket-scotland-faces-special-measures-status-after-racism-report