Lawyers acting on behalf of two former umpires have called on the Equality and Human Rights Commission to investigate allegations of institutional racism in English cricket.
John Holder and Ismail Dawood are seeking damages from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) for alleged racial discrimination.
Their lawyers have now joined other campaigners, including former human rights lawyer and judge Peter Herbert, in calling for a wider investigation into racism allegations in the sport.
“A consortium of Pan African, Caribbean and Asian organisations have today called upon the Equality and Human Rights Commission to investigate racism into cricket in England and Wales,” a statement from the campaigners read.
“The claimants are seeking permission to bring a complaint against the England and Wales Cricket Board on the grounds of institutional racism.”
Earlier this month, the ECB named Cindy Butts as the chair of its Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket.
The governing body says the Commission will “examine all issues relating to race and equity in cricket” and “play an important role in helping us to listen and understand the reality of the inclusion challenges in the game, so that we can focus our efforts on ensuring that more people can say that cricket is a game for me”.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission is the regulatory body responsible for the promotion and enforcement of equality laws in England, Scotland and Wales.
Earlier this week a group of MPs submitted an early day motion for the issue to be debated in Parliament, stating “serious concern at the under-representation of African, Caribbean and Asian coaches, umpires and match officials at all levels of cricket in England and Wales” and calling for appropriate action.
Holder, 75, umpired in first-class cricket in England between 1982 and 2009, and also officiated in Test and one-day international matches in the UK and abroad, before working as an umpires’ performance manager for the International Cricket Council.
The former Hampshire seamer said in November it looked “more than suspicious” he had not received a reply from the ECB when offering to be a mentor on his retirement from umpiring.
Dawood, 44, who played as a wicketkeeper for four counties before turning to umpiring, said he had heard racist language used in front of senior ECB staff, which went unchallenged.
He also contests that he was routinely denied promotion from the reserve list while less-qualified white candidates were fast-tracked.
The last black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) umpire to be added to the ECB’s first-class list was Vanburn Holder 28 years ago. There have been none since his retirement in 2010.
The ECB has introduced a new anti-discrimination code and has supported the Professional Cricketers’ Association’s education, diversity and inclusion programme.
