Lancashire Cricket is fully aware of its responsibility – along with the entirety of English Cricket – to ensure that our games takes every step possible to eradicate discrimination. As a leading County Club, we have committed to a wide-ranging action plan to tackle racism and promote inclusion and diversity at all levels of the game.
As a game, we recognise that this is just the start of making cricket a sport where everyone feels welcome and included but realise that there is much more work ahead of us. This cannot just be about words on paper – we need to take actions which demonstrate that we are on the road to creating a better environment for everyone involved in Cricket.
Over the past two years, the Club have worked hard on our EDI framework to ensure that it is genuinely going to make a difference to the community we serve. This recognises the work that has progressed on gender diversity in recent years, but with a clear focus on increasing wider and more diverse representation throughout the whole organisation. The Club's EDI framework document is built within the fabric of Lancashire Cricket including four vital components:
Welcome– To ensure we create a welcoming environment for all.
Communication– To reach out into communities and ensure an open, two-way communication, where we listen, learn and act.
People– To educate our team to hold the strategy together.
Support– To create a strong foundation for delivering success.
There is already some fantastic work that is being carried out across the county and the wider North West Region and there are many people committed to making things better, every day. However, we know that we need to do more.
Cricket has an incredible power to bring people together, eradicate social barriers and be a force for good across communities. We are clear that this must start with us. This means creating a more diverse workforce from top to bottom. For that diverse workforce to thrive, it means working hard to nurture a culture where everyone feels safe, where everyone belongs and where everyone can be themselves.
For us though, this is not, and never will be, a standalone strategy or action plan. It’s something that is part of us, embedded within the core values and DNA of the Lancashire Cricket family. We have made progress in this area, but we need – and want – to do better.
EDI initiatives at Emirates Old Trafford
To gain a better understanding of Ramadan, a number of our staff took part in Ramaday. Here is how they got on:
Lancashire's overseas player in 2022, Hassan Ali, attends a Ramadan evening cricket event at Emirates Old Trafford.
Lancashire Cricket launched their T20 Blast kit for the 2022 campaign, using individuals from all over the North West region, representing all different communities.
Lancashire Cricket hosted a T20 Double Header, with the Women's team as the headline event in June 2022. As part of the day, the Club also hosted a 'Women in Sport & Business' panel, hosted in the Pavilion at Emirates Old Trafford.
How to report discrimination at Emirates Old Trafford
We want Lancashire Cricket to be an organisation that welcomes all manner of lifestyles and perspectives, that embraces diversity and fosters inclusion.
The Club will continue to listen and learn from anyone who has experienced or witnessed discrimination in the sport, whether that be at Emirates Old Trafford, or further afield from across the county. The dedicated email addressequality@lancashirecricket.co.ukhas been established as part of an ongoing approach to improving EDI. We will, of course, address any past or current issues of this nature.
Discrimination can also be reported to the England and Wales Cricket Board,by clicking here.
