England women will reportedly be allowed to boycott the player of the match award at next year's T20 World Cup.
The awards are sponsored by the state-owned Saudi Arabian oil company Aramco, who were granted naming rights for all major men's and women's ICC events until the end of 2023 in a deal announced in October.
The Climate Accountability Institute named Aramco as the largest corporate greenhouse gas emitter in 2019, with the company responsible for more than 4% of the world's total emissions since 1965. The company is majority owned by the Saudi government, with the head of their Public Investment Fund and Newcastle United chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan also Aramco's chairman.
Amnesty International have described Saudi Arabia's human rights record as "appalling", with the state accused of torture, execution, religious discrimination and suppressing free speech. And the Cricketer now report that some England players 'expressed reservations' about Aramco's sponsorship of the player of the match awards and have 'won an agreement that no individual would be obliged to accept it'.
It was reported before the men's T20 World Cup that the ICC would not sanction players if they opted to skip player of the match presentations, with the Federation of International Cricketers' Associations stating they would back players who wished to boycott certain sponsors.
"Our focus at present is on agreeing the foundations of the relationship between players collectively and the ICC at a global level," CEO Tom Moffat told the AAP. "That's including on the various global employment and regulatory issues that impact players and ensure cricket aligns with the global best practice.
"Part of our proposal includes a framework for dialogue on how cricket approaches human rights responsibilities. In the meantime if individual players do not want to be associated with a particular sponsor, we would support that."
Australia captain Pat Cummins has also raised concerns over the sport's sponsorship deals, saying: "We have seen certain players make decisions based on religions, or certain foods they eat, where they won't partner with specific partners.
"Every organisation has a responsibility to do what's right for the sport and what they think is right for the organisation and, I hope, society when it moves forward. It is a balance when you make decisions about who you are going to welcome into the cricket family."
