The England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has announced that it will establish an independent regulator and increase investment in the women’s game following a report that highlighted discrimination in cricket.
The news comes three months after the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC) delivered its findings from a two-year investigation into the sport, which detailed racism, sexism, classism and elitism in cricket, and provided 44 recommendations for improvement.
The ECB published its official response on Monday (25th September), announcing the creation of a new regulatory body, independent of the ECB, within the next year. The regulator is set to be operational before the start of the 2024 season and report to the Independent Cricket Regulatory Board.
The ECB has also committed to investing at least £25m per year to further grow the women’s and girls’ game at every level. The investment will be independent of any revenue generated by the women’s game and span across the current broadcast cycle, which runs until 2028.
“This response represents a set of actions that will accelerate and intensify our work to make cricket a game for everyone, actions that cricket can deliver and fund within an achievable timeframe.”
ECB Chair, Richard Thompson
ECB Chair, Richard Thompson, commented, “There is no doubt that the ICEC highlighted to great effect the impact of discrimination on individuals and the extent of the systemic challenges to be addressed.
“Its in-depth analysis also presented an opportunity to put in place a comprehensive plan of action that will deliver meaningful change and rebuild trust among the communities we serve.
“This response represents a set of actions that will accelerate and intensify our work to make cricket a game for everyone, actions that cricket can deliver and fund within an achievable timeframe.”
With sub-clauses included in the 44 recommendations, the ECB says there are some 137 actions asked of the governing body by the ICEC report and claims it has a ‘positive direction of travel’ on 94% of them.
Some have already materialised. For example, last month, the ECB equalised match fees for England’s women and men’s team with immediate effect.
However, the ECB did not commit to the ICEC’s recommendations on equal pay, which included equal average salaries at international level by 2030, equal salaries for The Hundred by 2025 and equal average pay and prize money in all domestic cricket by 2029.
In a statement, the ECB explained, ‘Growing the demand and audience for women’s cricket is crucial to creating the long-term commercial conditions, which will underpin the achievement of our pay parity goal.
‘For all the progress we have seen, the gap between the value of commercial and media rights for the men’s and women’s games is still vast.
‘By creating a thriving, viable and robust future for women’s and girls’ cricket at every level of the game, we can make real progress in closing that gap.’
The ECB is also set to publish a state of equity report every three years and adopt a more transparent and accountable approach to equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI).
Other planned steps in line with ICEC recommendations include overhauling the talent pathway to ‘make it more meritocratic, inclusive, accountable, transparent and consistent’ and adding victimisation as an offence in the Anti-Discrimination Code.
ECB INVESTMENT TO ENCOURAGE DIVERSITY
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