There will be greater diversity off the field during the Ashes following the first award of a grant that will allow a new young journalist to cover the series.
The inaugural LV= Insurance diversity grant has been awarded to 24-year-old Shubi Arun from Kingston who beat all other entrants to the five month placement within the cricket media in 2023.
The game has been rightly focused on opportunities and equality on the field in recent years, but beyond the boundary, in coaching, administrative and executive positions there is much more work needed.
The media is another part of the cricket ecosystem where opportunities can be too few and far between for people of colour, for women or people with disabilities and this directly addresses some of that issue.
World Cup winner Ebony Rainford-Brent has long been at the vanguard of trying to instigate change as the chair of the ACE programme that is targeting on field chances for black cricketers. And after announcing the winner, she welcomed the shift in attitudes and approach across the game.
“I like environments to represent society,” said Rainford-Brent. “You want to see different backgrounds represented and we haven’t always seen that.
“Through initiatives like this we need to find very good, talented people who can be the future of writing or voices in cricket. So, I’m really excited to see where this goes as I think it is going to bring more people through who represent society and inspire more young people that this sport and this industry is for them.”
As a member of the the judging panel for the grant I can assure readers that there was plenty of ability for us to choose from and it was a close run decision as to the final winner. But Arun’s quality as a writer as well as his passion for both journalism and cricket stood out and the award is well deserved.
He will work alongside the Test sponsors LV= as well as for media titles including the Daily Mirror, Daily Telegraph and The Cricketer, in covering the English summer both before and during matches.
And he will get the chance to not only learn how things work first hand, but to enjoy a huge opportunity to expand his experience and make the sort of connections that will be essential during his career.
“It’s a dream come true, and I can’t wait to start,” said Arun. “From the minute I found out about the grant I was so keen because it is such a rare opportunity to work in cricket. I’m super excited and it means a lot.
“One big consideration when I came to do my Master’s degree in sports journalism was that I didn’t see many people who look like me in the press box. You do think about it because you want someone to look up to but that is changing and opportunities like this really increases that representation and will help more people get into the industry.”
