England and Wales Cricket Board’s failure to respond to Lord Botham’s criticism of a major report into discrimination in the sport shows England and Wales’ failure to respond to criticism of discrimination in the sport, chairman told MPs The cricket board lacks a “backbone”.
A report by the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket, released last June, found that racism is deeply entrenched in cricket and that women in the sport often suffer sexism and misogyny. Research finds cricket remains an elite sport with little focus on addressing class barriers.
The 68-year-old former England all-rounder and Durham University chairman Botham described the ICEC findings as “nonsense” and called the ECB-commissioned report a “complete and utter waste of money”. He added that ICEC had not contacted him for comment and was not aware of anyone who had.
Icec chairperson Cindy Butts told MPs on the culture, media and sport select committee that she believed the ECB’s response to the comments was weak. “I am disappointed that the ECB did not name Lord Botham, the chairman of first-class cricket counties. His words carry a lot of weight. The ECB did not see fit to stand up and say: ‘This is wrong,'” she said.
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“Not only did they remain silent, they rejected calls from stakeholders and people who were concerned about Mr. Botham’s comments, and they chose to remain silent. I think they should have a moral backbone on this issue.”
Butts said Botham’s response also raised concerns in her about how people who report discrimination in Durham might be treated. “There are many falsehoods in what he said about the report,” Butts said. “But what disappoints me most is that Lord Botham is chairman of a first-class county. What confidence do people in the county who may experience racism, sexism, classism … that something will be done to address this?”
“I’m personally disappointed, not least because he was one of my sporting heroes. As a young working-class woman growing up in Shepherd’s Bush, Lord Botham had a really profound impact on me.”
ECB President Richard Thompson told the committee at a subsequent meeting that he had called Lord Botham after he “questioned the reasons” for the comments.
“I think the ECB probably takes a view or two on this, and my sense is that we’re trying to come to terms with it, we’re trying to move forward and heal,” Thompson said. “Lord Botham is entitled to his views but I do not agree with them. I made it clear to him that I do not agree with their views. But we live in a democracy and he can say these things.
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“I can see what Durham is doing as a county, we’re happy to share their EDI report, their action plan, and it’s clear that Durham is doing a really good job reaching out to the community, reaching out to other minorities. The county did not arrive.
“So I don’t think everything Lord Botham said is representative of what Durham do as a club.”
The PA news agency has contacted Durham CCC seeking a response from Botham.
