CRICKET WALES has reiterated its zero tolerance policy towards racism and discrimination in all forms.
It comes in the wake of revelations from former Yorkshire cricketer Azeem Rafiq and many other former professionals.
The Board of Cricket Wales met on Wednesday (Nov 24) to discuss the topic of racism in cricket.
Cricket Wales said its Directors were unanimous in their support of the principles and commitments proposed to the partners of the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB), following last week’s “All-Game” meeting at The Kia Oval.
A spokesperson added: “In addition to committing to fully adopting the measures proposed, the Board of Cricket Wales re-iterates its zero tolerance policy towards racism and discrimination, in all its forms.
“Equality, Diversity and Inclusion is a well-established principle of governance for our Board and our organisation; a summary of our work, commitment and ambitions in this area can be found here.
“In addition to this, the executives and Chairs of the EDI sub-committees of Cricket Wales and Glamorgan Cricket recently hosted a joint workshop, with key stakeholders and potential partners, to discuss our plans and take best practice learnings from experts in the field, both in and outside of sport.
“We will continue this work in earnest, together, and redouble our efforts in the coming weeks, months and years. We will also ensure our staff and key volunteers receive the education, training and support they need to enable our game to continue to move forwards.”
Chair of Cricket Wales, Jennifer Owen Adams said: “It is a moral imperative that we move quickly and decisively to right the wrongs recently exposed and undoubtedly many other experiences and stories not told – and it is our collective responsibility to do that.
“Actions speak louder than words. We must model the behaviours and actions needed to make our work ring true and have an impact across the cricket network. We must ‘walk the walk’ as well as ‘talking the talk.’
“Progress will be driven by a change of culture; Behaviour ultimately drives culture changes; strategies and principles enable them but, in themselves, are not enough. We will model the right behaviours as we go about our work – and ‘call out’ if we observe others falling short.
“Being silent on racism or any form of discrimination is being complicit.
“We will hold ourselves to account for the progress we make against the actions agreed by The Game and we will continue to lead and stump out behaviours which marginalise, or discriminate against, differences in our sport.
“Our diversity is our strength, and we will ensure this message is amplified and heard across the game in Wales.”
