‘Healthy culture’ found at County’s cricket academy

THE Professional Cricketers’ Association has been encouraged by the “healthy culture” in the firstclass academies it has visited so far as part of an inclusivity education programme, writes Jamie Gardner, PA Chief Sports Reporter.

The PCA initiative, which has the support of former West Indies paceman and anti-discrimination campaigner Michael Holding, will ultimately be delivered to all 18 first-class academies.

Its foundation precedes the publication last month of a gamewide 12-point action plan to tackle discrimination in the sport, developed in the wake of Azeem Rafiq and others blowing the whistle on their experience of racist abuse at their counties.

The first of the PCA visits, to the Leicestershire academy, took place on November 16 – the day Rafiq gave his harrowing testimony to MPs on the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee.

PCA lead personal development manager Charlie Mulraine said: “We were keen to get back into the dressing rooms and find out how academy players felt about the incidences of racism that have been in the press, and to enable them to question them in their own environment.

“It has been overwhelmingly positive and inspiring to see such a healthy culture in our academies.

“There’s an understanding that healthy banter is important, but there’s a balance and understanding of where the boundaries are in supportive environments.

“Recent news stories have highlighted that cricket needs to have a look at itself, and education is at the heart of that as we’ve seen from these sessions.”

Part of the session includes a video address from Holding, while the players also receive a guide to the Equality Act 2010 and the England and Wales Cricket Board’s updated anti-discrimination code.

Derbyshire academy player

Tauseef Kataria said: “It was a very good session on how we need to include people from different backgrounds, ethnicities and sexualities, especially given everything that has been going on in the game recently.

“These conversations need to happen. I’ve personally always felt included at Derbyshire, but that might not be the case in every set-up.”

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