Cricket Scotland board resigns amidst racism row

The Scotland Cricket board has submitted its resignation following the racism allegations made against them by cricketers Majid Haq and Qasim Sheikh. In an independent review, Cricket Scotland have been found to be “institutionally racist“. The review report is set to be released on July 25, however, the board tendered its resignation a day in advance, stating they are “truly sorry” to anyone who was at end of racist abuse.

In their resignation, the board of Cricket Scotland wrote: “When the review into racism in Scottish cricket was announced last year we were fully supportive of the review. 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 have 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 apologised 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 modernise the governance of the sport to ensure its continued success in the years ahead.

“These two programmes of work, one to deliver a thorough, fair and speedy resolution to the issues raised about racism, and the other to overhaul and modernise the governance of the sport are individually huge challenges for a small organisation like Cricket Scotland. We acknowledge the significant support received from sportscotland to date, and we know that they will continue to work in partnership to ensure speedy progress going forward.

“However, while the Board has not been given sight of the review report, it is now aware of the proposed timescales and of certain mandated actions proposed within the report that it believes make the delivery of these two programmes unachievable within the timetable proposed and the current governance framework. Consequently, we believe we must now step aside to enable the required progress to be made in the coming months.”

Scotland’s leading wicket-taker Majid, and his teammate Qasim Sheikh, had made startling revelations in November last year in an interview with Sky Sports, stating that they were victims of racist abuse during their playing career and that they were differently treated due to their different skin colour.

Essex at the centre of racism row

Meanwhile, some serious racism allegations have been made against the county side Essex as well. Earlier, former Yorkshire cricketer Azeem Rafiq had claimed that he was also a victim of racist abuse which shook the entire cricketing fraternity.

To note, Rafiq decided to open up about how he was treated differently during his ten-year-long stay in Yorkshire last year in November. As a result, Yorkshire had to make some serious changes in their camp, sacking the whole coaching staff and others involved in the racism row before conducting fresh appointments.

Last November, former Essex players including Maurice Chambers, Zoheb Sharif, and Jahid Ahmed have alleged former Essex coach and captain for racial abuse. The independent report is expected to be made public in September this year. Meanwhile, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has not given any comment on the ongoing investigation. It may be noted that Essex had to pay the heavy monetary penalty after being found guilty to two charges related to racist comments made at a made board meeting in Chelmsford in 2017.