WCF will work alongside ECB to implement the relevant plans at a local level along with our other key partners such as Warwickshire County Cricket Club, Chance to Shine, ACE and the Lord’s Taverners.
WCF welcomes the ECB’s formal response to the ICEC Report which was published earlier this week. WCF will develop further plans to improve equality, diversity & inclusion in Warwickshire Cricket as the County Club develops the second iteration of ‘Edgbaston for Everyone’.
Click here to read the full ECB response to the ICEC Report,
Click here to read the full ICEC report.
Further information on the ECB’s response to the ICEC Report:
The ECB has published details of further steps it will take – and which we will work together as a game to implement – to achieve these ambitions and to tackle some of the challenges identified in the recent ICEC report. Wide-ranging action aims to tackle discrimination and break down barriers for women and girls, people from lower socio-economic groups, and ethnically diverse communities. It will accelerate and bolster work already under way across the game designed to make cricket the UK’s most inclusive sport. The ECB’s response includes:
- Enhanced EDI education to help create a game-wide transformation in culture.
- Further investment in the women’s game – a minimum of £25m per year above forecasted revenues from the women’s game
- Increasing match fees for England Women to equalise them with England Men immediately and working with Metro Bank to triple the number of girls’ club teams by 2026.
- Collaborative work across the game to design an enhanced and expanded Talent Pathway that aims to remove barriers and increase opportunity.
- Developing action plans, as requested by the ICEC, to tackle barriers for state school pupils and Black and other Ethnically Diverse communities.
- Investing an extra £2m into charity partners to boost their work in breaking down barriers, particularly for state school, Black and British South Asian children, and young people – the African Caribbean Engagement (ACE) Programme, Chance to Shine, Lord’s Taverners, MCC Foundation and South Asian Cricket Academy (SACA).
- Developing a game-wide Volunteering Strategy.
- Providing support and training across the cricket network to enhance understanding of discrimination and the management of complaints across the cricket network, as well as launching a charter setting out clear expectations of both complainants and the investigating body to ensure a fair and transparent outcome for all.
- Including enhanced EDI standards in the next County Partnership Agreements (CPAs) from 2025 and adding more ambitious County Board targets for gender diversity and ethnic diversity based on local demographics. Venues hosting major matches will be assessed against their performance against EDI minimum standards.