'Do you do the ironing for the men?' - Heather Knight reveals experiences of sexism from early days in cricket

An independent report on the culture of England cricket unearthed cases of racism, class-based discrimination, elitism and sexism.

By CricTracker Staff

Updated - 01 Jul 2023, 15:59 IST

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England cricket has been rocked by a report from the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket which has disclosed the widespread discrimination experienced by players in the country. Following the report, England Women’s captain Heather Knight has also come forward and made shocking revelations from her early days.

Knight shared how she was subjected to sexism when someone asked her if she does the ironing work for men after practice. The England captain feels that English cricket will take a long time to safeguard equality for all in the game.

"It's been really sad to hear about anyone that's not felt welcome in our game - nobody should be made to feel unwelcome in our sport," Knight was quoted as saying by BBC. "This is a really important step for cricket, and cricket - having done this report - can really lead the way in terms of being more equitable, more diverse and more inclusive.
"It's really important for me to say as a woman in cricket it's not at all surprising, the recommendations that have come out of the report - but it's really important to say cricket has come a hell of a long way since I was a kid. I started out playing men's club cricket and being asked: 'Do you do the ironing for the men when you're finished?' Now I lead my teammates out in front of a near-full house with 85,000 tickets sold for the whole series. Cricket has come far but still has a long way to go,” she added.

Notably, an independent report on the culture of England cricket unearthed cases of racism, class-based discrimination, elitism and sexism in English cricket. The report further stated that 50% of respondents experienced discrimination in the last five years, 87% of players of Bangladeshi and Pakistani heritage, 82% of Indian heritage and 75% blacks.

England Women to take on Australia women in first T20I

Meanwhile, England will take on Australia in the first T20I of the three-match series in Ashes 2023 on Saturday, July 1 at Edgbaston, Birmingham. The two teams have given a tough fight to each other in T20I history as both have won 19 matches out of 39 matches played. 

Meanwhile, the Heather Knight-led side were beaten in the one-off Test in Nottingham by 89 runs and will look to make a comeback in the series by winning the upcoming T20Is. Australia have gained a lead of four points by winning the one-off Test and will have their eyes set on retaining the Ashes, having won it last time in 2022. 

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