CRICKET Scotland has made progress since a report into racism in the sport, but “genuine cultural change” within the game is needed, Sportscotland has said.
Cricket Scotland was placed into special measures in July after an independent review by consultancy firm Plan4Sport identified 448 instances of institutional racism.
The entire Cricket Scotland board resigned 24 hours before the report was published.
Sportscotland on Friday published an interim update into the progress made by Cricket Scotland following the independent review.
The update found that work was in progress on several recommendations made by the review, including that Cricket Scotland should immediately start the recruitment process for new board members.
Forbes Dunlop, chief operating Officer of Sportscotland, said: “In the eight weeks since publication of the Changing The Boundaries report, Cricket Scotland has made progress in several areas.
“However, it is important that further progress is achieved over the coming months to deliver the cultural change that we all want to see in Scottish cricket.
“The significance of the Cricket Scotland Board appointments cannot be underestimated.
“The recruitment process for the independent chair and non-executive directors is ongoing and it is essential that Cricket Scotland appoints a diverse board that has the skillset to take the sport forward.
“That will be an important step in demonstrating real and meaningful change.
“It is unacceptable that anyone has experienced racist abuse and discrimination while playing cricket, and where that has been the case, steps must be taken to address the past.
“Referrals made as part of the review are now being reviewed and where appropriate investigated as part of a fully independent and robust process.
“Today’s interim progress update and the associated Cricket Scotland short-term action plan must be followed up with robust actions and genuine cultural change within the sport.
“We will help Cricket Scotland to re-build while keeping all options on the table to ensure they deliver on all recommendations in the Changing The Boundaries report.”
One of the recommendations was that the diversity of the board members should be a minimum of 40% men and 40% women, and that a minimum of 25% of the total board make-up should come from black, South-East Asian, or other mixed or multiple ethnic groups.
The review was commissioned last year following allegations from former Scotland internationals Majid Haq and Qasim Sheikh.
As part of the Plan4Sport review, 68 individual concerns have been referred for further investigation, of which 31 relate to allegations of racism against 15 different people, two clubs and one regional association.
Cricket Scotland chief executive Gordon Arthur said: “It has been a challenging two months for everyone at Cricket Scotland since Changing The Boundaries was published.
“A lot of good work has been done on the review process for referrals, the action plan, starting the long process to rebuild trust with our communities and to begin the change the culture that is needed in Cricket Scotland.
“This first of five quarterly reports demonstrates that much progress has been made, in addition to delivering 11 home international cricket matches, preparing the women’s and men’s international teams for World Cup qualifiers and the final weeks of the domestic season.
“We look forward to the appointment of a new board to help drive the work forward and are grateful for the ongoing support of Sportscotland.”
