The board of directors at Cricket Scotland, the sport’s national governing body, has resigned ahead of the release of an independent report into racism.
The report, which is due to be released today (July 25), is expected to reveal cases of widespread racism within cricket in Scotland.
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The review was launched last December by Sportscotland, the national agency for sport in the country, after all-time leading wicket-taker Majid Haq accused Cricket Scotland of being "institutionally racist" in an interview with Sky.
Haq’s former teammate Qasim Sheikh said he had also suffered racist abuse.
The board’s resignation letter was released by Cricket Scotland yesterday (July 24) stating it was “truly sorry” to anyone who suffered racism while playing the sport.
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It read: “When the review into racism in Scottish cricket was announced last year, we were fully supportive of the review.
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By GlobalData“The review has achieved an unparalleled level of engagement and we believe it will be truly transformative, not just for Cricket Scotland and the sport of cricket, but it will provide a watershed moment for Scottish sport and society in general.
“The board has been totally committed to implementing the findings of this review in full to make the sport of cricket in Scotland a truly welcoming and inclusive place for all. We are all truly sorry and have apologized publicly to everyone who has experienced racism, or any other form of discrimination, in cricket in Scotland.
“The board has also made important initial steps to improve the governance and leadership of Cricket Scotland since the start of the year. This is, without doubt, the start of another long journey to overhaul and modernize the governance of the sport to ensure its continued success in the years ahead.”
The Cricket Scotland board claims that the actions required – to deliver a “thorough, fair and speedy resolution to the issues raised about racism” and to “overhaul and modernize the governance of the sport” – are “individually huge challenges for a small organization like Cricket Scotland.”
Despite taking steps to improve the governance of the governing body and having not seen the report, the board felt the recommended actions in the report are “unachievable within the timetable proposed and the current governance framework.”
Cricket Scotland announced it will work in partnership with Sportscotland “with immediate effect to ensure appropriate governance, leadership and support is in place for the organization and the sport in the days ahead.”
The national body added that these arrangements will be reviewed after the report's publication.
