Cricket Scotland has been moved out of special measures more than two years on from a damning review that found the governing body to be ‘institutionally racist’.
They were placed into special measures in July 2022 after Sportscotland’s Changing the Boundaries report found 448 indicators of institutional racism.
Of 31 ‘tests’ used to measure the problem, Cricket Scotland – the game’s governing body – failed on 29 and only partially met the required standard on the remaining two.
The review was undertaken following complaints of institutional racism by two Scotland cricket internationals, Majid Haq and Qasim Sheikh, both of whom said the issue had blighted their careers.
In June, Scotland cricketer Hamza Tahir retired from international duty, claiming he was the victim of racism. The 28-year-old is pursuing a racial discrimination and unfair dismissal claim after his contract wasn’t renewed earlier this year.
Those allegations are now being investigated within the new Cricket Scotland disciplinary system which was not in place when the claims were first made in January 2023.
Thursday’s development of moving out of special measures follows the completion of the Cricket Scotland Action Plan which was formulated in 2022 and concluded last week with the publishing of the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Strategy.
Cricket Scotland has welcomed the move, with chief executive Trudy Lindblade saying: “There is no doubt that an enormous amount of hard work has been undertaken by the team and Board at Cricket Scotland along with a fierce determination to move the governing body forward to this point.
“Our work is far from over. In fact, it has only just begun. It is the governing body’s duty to be trusted to lead effectively and take positive action to ensure there is no place for racism in Scottish cricket.”
Cricket Scotland chair Wilf Walsh said it was “a significant day for our sport”.
“Our team have been tireless in their efforts over the last two and a half years to create the changes which have brought us to this stage,” he added.
