Essex chair Anu Mohindru insists maintaining anonymity was behind the decision not to name individuals sanctioned over an independent review which found players at the club had been subjected to racist abuse.
A report by Katharine Newton KC published last December found reference to players’ ethnic, racial and religious origins was “entirely normalised and tolerated behaviour” within the dressing-room culture between the mid-1990s until around 2013, under the misguided belief that it was acceptable ‘banter’.
Newton was commissioned to carry out the report in 2021 after allegations of discrimination were made by former Essex players Jahid Ahmed, Maurice Chambers and Zoheb Sharif.
The club revealed on Wednesday that sanctions have now been issued, but have not confirmed who has been sanctioned, how many individuals are involved and what the nature of those sanctions are.
Mohindru told the PA news agency: “I am not going to give a number because it’s about jigsaw identification.
“Everyone who has been implicated and had an adverse finding in the report has been sanctioned in some way.
“When the report came out we gave it to the independent panel, who then had nothing off the table for them at that stage. They could decide what was appropriate from bans, to losing membership to bans from the ground.
“That was then sent back to the board and everybody had an opportunity to make representation with regards to mitigating circumstances or anything we thought the board should take into consideration.
“The board then took the starting point that the panel had thought or the range, took mitigation into place and then we imposed the sanction.
“Each person has been told individually. We haven’t told anybody what anybody else has got and so forth like that. And that’s keeping in line with the anonymity we wanted to keep throughout this.
“It is not a matter of us trying to shut shop, but with regards to the Katharine report, we were very clear in our mind we needed to follow the anonymity that stemmed from the start.”
Mohindru refused to reveal if any of the individuals sanctioned were still working for Essex, but said the England and Wales Cricket Board had been told about all those sanctioned and what those sanctions were.
“I can’t tell you that because again, I can’t confirm or deny that. All I can say is anybody that has been in the report has been sanctioned and there has been an array of sanctions that have been put forward,” Mohindru said when questioned if any of the sanctioned individuals were still at Essex.
“I absolutely understand (criticism) but I need to also keep an eye on people’s welfare and the process we’ve followed from the start. We had to follow legal advice, which we have done all the way through and I think we were in a catch 22.
“If we had revealed it, I am sure we would have been criticised for that and by not revealing it, we’ll be criticised for that, but what I can say is it has been a very strong process.
“The independent panel are an experienced panel that are used to dealing with regulatory as well as sanctions so they would know what would be appropriate. It is my day job as well so I know how to deal with it.
“It is a matter of this board had nothing to do with anything that happened before and it is an independent board that was pretty much elected after all of this started, so we’ve tried to be as fair as possible all across the board in every way. That’s been robust sanctions as well as being fair to the individuals.”
Newton said in her report conclusions that those on the receiving end of discriminatory treatment “were too scared to speak up for fear of damaging their prospects of selection and progression”.
“In any event, there were no effective mechanisms for raising such concerns,” she added.
Her report also found a lack of understanding of the needs of Muslim players at Essex.
Newton also found that the club’s former chairman, John Faragher, used racist language during a board meeting in 2017 and that the club failed to properly investigate a complaint about the language used.
Newton said in the summary report that she had upheld “a number” of complaints of racially discriminatory conduct, and that the perpetrators were named in the full report she sent to Essex.
Newton said one of the players was given the nickname ‘bomber’ following the September 11 terrorist attacks. She also found that the phrase ‘curry muncher’ was “commonly used” in the dressing room to describe individuals of South Asian heritage.
Ahmed, who has been contacted for comment, has previously told PA the term “curry muncher” was directed towards him during his time at the club.
The ECB has not commented on the sanctions. The Cricket Regulator is continuing its own investigation into what happened at Essex, but Mohindru is unsure when it will conclude.
Kevin Sinclair replaced by Junior Sinclair in Harpy Eagles Super50 squad after internal report to GCB
All-rounder Kevin Sinclair will take no further part in the Guyana Harpy Eagles CG United Super50 Cup campaign in Trinidad and Tobago. The decision made by the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) followed the submission of an internal report by the Harpy Eagles' management team that it was necessary to replace the player.
The GCB, in making the revelation, also announced that Kevin Sinclair will be replaced by Junior Sinclair in the squad at the tournament.
Though the GCB’s statement did not clarify if sub-standard performance is the reason behind Kevin Sinclair’s ejection from the squad, it pointed out that it was a “necessary squad adjustment.”
“Following an internal report from the Guyana Harpy Eagles management, it has been decided that Kevin Sinclair will no longer be participating in this year’s competition,” the statement read.
In the three matches played in the Super50 Cup, Kevin Sinclair tallied 14 runs and snared three wickets.
He made 14 from 16 balls against Windward Volcanoes and took 2-66 from 10 overs in the same match.
However, he did not bat in the rained-out contest against Combined Campuses and Colleges Marooners and was dismissed without a score against Barbados Pride and only took 1-26 from 10 overs in that same match.
The Guyana Harpy Eagles are winless after three matches.
A similar situation arose last year during the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) T20 tournament when organisers announced Kevin left the Guyana Amazon Warriors squad for “personal reasons.”
Kevin Sinclair’s departure opens the door for Junior Sinclair to take up a spot in the Harpy Eagles squad ahead of Tuesday’s contest against Leeward Islands Hurricanes at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy.
Guyana Harpy Eagles Squad: Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Matthew Nandu, Tevin Imlach (captain), Kevlon Anderson, Kemol Savory, Junior Sinclair, Keemo Paul (vice-captain), Ronaldo Aimohamed, Veerasammy Permaul, Isai Thorne, Ashmead Nedd, Nial Smith, Sylus Tyndall, Rampertab Ramnauth.
Salt confirmed as England wicketkeeper despite Buttler return for West Indies T20Is
Phil Salt will be wicketkeeper in England’s upcoming T20I series against West Indies as white-ball captain Jos Buttler looks to improve his captaincy.
Buttler has been ruled out with a calf strain but will return to England's squad for the five-match T20I series that begins on Saturday.
Until now, Salt has kept in just 13 of his 59 England appearances across all formats but has taken up the mantle for the ongoing ODI series against West Indies.
Buttler, on the other hand, has donned the gloves in 106 of his 108 T20Is.
Salt, though, is enjoying his new role.
"It's not something I've done a lot for England recently, but I enjoy keeping. I feel like that's where I offer most to the side," Salt said, as reported by ESPN.
"We've not had a chat about anything going forward. I'm just glad to be doing it at the moment."
While Salt is not guaranteed the gloves after this series, he will find comfort in Buttler's intent to optimise his captaincy by experimenting with a role in the field.
"I was going to give up the gloves and commit to being at mid-off and see how that felt. If it will help me with my captaincy it is something I am open to," Buttler told Sky Sports in September after being ruled out of the T20 series against Australia.
England are tied 1-1 in their ODI series against the West Indies with the decider to be played on Wednesday.
West Indies Academy secures first win of the season with 22-run DLS method victory over CCC
The West Indies Academy recorded their first win of the 2024 CG United Super50 Cup season with a 22-run DLS method win over the Combined Campuses and Colleges at the Sir Frank Worrell Memorial Ground in St. Augustine on Monday.
CCC, who were also seeking their first win of the season, were first dismissed for 174 in 39.5 overs after winning the toss and batting first.
Experienced opener Kieran Powell top scored with 46 off 42 balls including eight fours while Shaqkere Parris made 40 and Johann Jeremiah hit 33.
Jediah Blades continued his good form with the ball this season with 3-23 from six overs and was well supported by Zishan Motara who took 3-31 from his 10 overs.
Joshua Bishop also bowled well with 2-25 from 6.5 overs.
In reply, the Academy were 167-7 off 40.5 overs, 22 runs ahead of the DLS par score when the rain brought an end to proceedings.
Andrew Rambaran and Johann Layne put together a crucial eighth wicket partnership, helping the Academy recover from 118-7 in the 29th over.
Rambaran finished 37* while Layne finished 25* off 28 balls including two fours and two sixes.
Earlier, Rivaldo Clarke top scored with 38. Romario Greaves was excellent with the ball for the CCC with 5-45 from his 10 overs while the other two wickets were split between Akeem Jordan and Abhijai Mansingh.
Full Scores:
Combined Campuses and Colleges 174 off 39.5 overs (Kieran Powell 46, Shaqkere Parris 40, Johann Jeremiah 33, Jediah Blades 3-23, Zishan Motara 3-31, Joshua Bishop 2-25)
West Indies Academy 167-7 off 40.5 overs (Rivaldo Clarke 38, Andrew Rambaran 37*, Johann Layne 25*, Romario Greaves 5-45).
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