A new independent assessment of cricket in England and Wales says that "genuine progress" has been made in the sport's bid to address its long-standing issues of inclusion and equity - but adds that further work is needed in several areas, including at senior leadership level.
The State of Equity in Cricket Report, published by Sport Structures, had been commissioned by the ECB as a follow-up to the damning 2023 report by the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC), which found that racism, classism, sexism and elitism were "widespread" in the sport.
That original report had concluded with 44 recommendations to the ECB, one of which was to publish a "full State of Equity Report every three years". This latest document, 53 pages long, has been delivered a year ahead of schedule, with Richard Gould, the ECB chief executive, stating that it was intended to "hold us to account" as cricket seeks to become the most inclusive team sport in England and Wales.
"Cricket is not yet where it aspires to be, but the tone has changed," Kate Percival, Sport Structures' CEO, said in a statement. "Inclusion is now seen as central to the game's health and future."
The report outlined several "notable areas of progress", including improved access to talent pathways, and a doubling of the number of women's and girl's teams since 2021, backed up by significant increases in the number of professional women's players and their pay.
The establishment of a new independent Cricket Regulator, ring-fenced from the rest of the ECB, was also noted in the report, along with a £50 million investment in facilities since 2023, particularly in urban areas including two all-weather cricket domes in Bradford and Darwen.
However, despite improved representation at board level - with female non-executives at 37% compared to 11% in 2019, and 18% ethnically diverse non-executives compared to 5% in 2019 - the report stated that "further action" was required at senior level, with a particular lack of Black representation.
Dame Sarah Storey, who is currently interim chair at Lancashire, remains the only female chair at any of the 18 first-class counties, while the resignation of Essex chair Anu Mohindru - who was found to have lied on his CV - means the ethnic diversity among county chairs and chief executives remains at 6%.
Coaching course data showed that more diversity is required in the Specialist programme which feeds the professional game, while Disability cricket requires "deeper integration" within county and club systems. The recreational game, meanwhile, requires further "capacity and expertise" to deal with discrimination issues, although a newly-formed Recreational Discipline Panel of independent experts is in place to hear the most serious and complex cases.
"The State of Equity in Cricket Report holds us to account in relation to our ambitions to become the most inclusive team sport," Gould said. "It shows us some areas of excellent work and progress, as well as where we need to go further.
"The extensive work to open up the talent pathway to young people from every background is a great example of the changes that can be made when cricketing organisations join forces to break down barriers and deliver systemic change.
"We know there is still a great deal of work to do, and a number of areas where more action is needed to address structural issues. We said from the start there could be no quick fix, but we committed to delivering meaningful and lasting change, and that will remain our absolute focus in the months and years ahead as we build on the progress we are setting out today."