Cricket Scotland found to be institutionally racist

Cricket Scotland governance and leadership practices have been found to be “institutionally racist”, the organisation leading the independent review of the governing body said today.

The study confirmed almost 450 examples that demonstrated institutional racism, with 62 per cent of survey respondents saying they had experienced, seen or had reported to them incidents of racism or discrimination.

Plan4Sport, commissioned by SportScotland, was entrusted with leading the review in December last year, engaging with over 1,000 people at all levels of Scottish cricket.

“Our view is clear: the governance and leadership practices of Cricket Scotland have been institutionally racist,” Louise Tideswell, managing director of Plan4Sport, said in a statement.

“Over the review period we have seen the bravery of so many people coming forward to share their stories which had clearly impacted on their lives.

“The reality is that the leadership of the organisation failed to see the problems and, in failing to do so, enabled a culture of racially aggravated micro-aggressions to develop.

“It didn’t address the lack of diversity at board and staff level and missed the need to develop transparent reporting, investigation and case management processes to address incidents of racism and discrimination.”

The board of Cricket Scotland had apologised and resigned a day before the report was published, citing that the resolution of issues and overhaul required was “unachievable” within the proposed timeframe.

The review was commissioned after allegations were made by one of the country’s all-time leading wicket-takers, Majid Haq. Haq’s former teammate Qasim Sheikh also spoke out about abuse he had suffered.

One of the recommendations is for Cricket Scotland to be placed in “special measures” by SportScotland until at least October 2023 and new board members be appointed no later than 30 September this year.

“The diversity of board members should be a minimum of 40 per cent men and 40 per cent women, ensuring that a minimum of 25 per cent of the total board makeup come from of Black, South-East Asian, or other mixed or multiple ethnic groups.”

Chief executive of SportScotland Stewart Harris described the findings as “deeply concerning and in some cases shocking.”

“As the national agency for sport, we will work with and support Cricket Scotland to help change the culture of Scottish cricket and that must now be the focus,” Mr Harris said.

“There has been some progress in recent months but we need to see more steps being taken to address the issues raised and importantly that includes the referrals.”

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