CRICKET NEEDS A RACE REVOLUTION

ECB chief demands counties get more racially diverse

ECB chief executive Tom Harrison last night warned the counties that cricket faces ‘oblivion’ if the sport does not become more racially diverse and broaden its appeal to all sections of society.

In an interview with Sportsmail after our analysis revealed the tiny number of BAME players, coaches and administrators working in county cricket, Harrison outlined the ECB’s intention to use a ‘carrot and stick’ approach to improve a situation he described as disturbing.

Harrison launched the ECB’s Inclusion and Diversity strategy earlier this year, with Sportsmail’s investigation demonstrating why it is needed. The policy will be protected from the impact of the governing body’s cost- cutting programme triggered by Covid-19.

There were only 33 BAME players across the 18 counties this summer

and just six coaches, a shocking imbalance which Harrison believes could eventually create an existential threat to a sport facing losses of up to £200million this year. ‘There’s nothing more important,’ he said. ‘You can have a game that is broke but if you’ve got something that’s relevant and appeals to a wide range of people you will find a way through. ‘Alternatively, you could have all the money in the world but if you’re not relevant to the communities you purport to be relevant to, or you’re discriminating or you’re prejudiced, then no amount of money will save you from the eventual oblivion you’re going to end up in. ‘That’s the job of the CEO, to make the game as broad as possible and that’s the strategy we’re committed to. I’m spending a lot of time on this because I don’t think there’s anything more important for us.’ Harrison also confirmed that the ECB will punish counties financially if they fail to ensure their staff adequately reflect their local communities within the next two years, as

Sportsmail reported yesterday. Yorkshire and Warwickshire would appear to be at most risk as only one of the 49 players on their staffs this summer is from a BAME background despite being based in the multicultural cities of Leeds and Birmingham. ‘We have the ability to enforce this,’ Harrison said. ‘Eventually inclusion and diversity will be linked to how much we fund the counties and other organisations. ‘We have to get the balance right between the right thing to do and pulling levers to enable a degree of enforcement. The stickand-carrot approach can work.’