Azeem Rafiq hailed the courage of those who had contributed to a new report laying bare the problems of discrimination facing cricket.
A long-awaited Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC) report was finally published on Tuesday.
Based on findings from more than 4,000 respondents, it found racism remains entrenched in the sport, that women routinely encounter sexism and misogyny and are treated as “subordinate” to men within cricket, and that little to no action has been taken to address the class barriers that exist.
In short, the report found cricket to be “elitist and exclusionary” and set out 44 recommendations for the England and Wales Cricket Board to act on.
Rafiq ignited the debate around discrimination in the sport after he spoke out in 2020 about the racism he encountered across two spells at Yorkshire, and contributed to the ICEC report.
He told the PA news agency: “I hope that reading this report will be some closure to all the people that have contributed.
“All of these people were brave enough to speak to the commission and I know there are a lot more out there suffering in silence. I just hope that this report reflects their voice and gives them a path to closure.
“It doesn’t matter how you speak or where you speak, any sort of decision to speak and contribute to such a huge issue within our society, within our game, takes a lot of courage. I obviously don’t know each and every one of these people (but) I’m just incredibly proud of that bravery.”
The first of the 44 recommendations was for the ECB to unreservedly apologise for failing to do enough to tackle discrimination, and to those who had suffered as a result of those failures.
The ECB has done so, and committed to a three-month consultation process to draw up reforms that build on the recommendations of the report.
Asked if he shared ICEC chair Cindy Butts’ faith in the current ECB leadership to bring about meaningful change, Rafiq said: “There’s an opportunity for the current leadership. I think they will be judged on their actions ultimately.
“It’s very important for us not to jump from one place to the other, that there’s no kneejerk reactions. I like the fact the ECB is going to take some time to create a strategy.”
Rafiq said there were bound to still be people who would insist these issues are either isolated or exaggerated, but added: “All I say to them is, for the sake of our game, we’ve got to come together.
“Cricket has got to become a place for everyone or we really risk what our game is going to become.
“This research is pretty damning. The data is there, the research is there, it’s over 4,000 (respondents) at this stage.
“If after everything that has happened over the last few years there’s still this denial that makes it really difficult for us to really come together and make our game respectful and a place for everyone.”
Greaves hits unbeaten ton as West Indies dominate Bangladesh
Justin Greaves hit an unbeaten century – his first red-ball ton – as West Indies ended day two of their first Test against Bangladesh with a commanding 410-run lead.
Greaves resumed alongside Joshua Da Silva with West Indies 250-5 after day one in Antigua, eventually slamming 115 runs off 206 balls faced as the hosts established a dominant position.
His steady knock ensured the Windies recovered nicely after slipping to 261-7 early on, while Kemar Roach hit a career-best 47 through four defiant hours at the crease.
Hasan Mahmud took three day-two wickets for Bangladesh, including that of Roach, as his short delivery angled in to clip the top of middle stump.
Windies skipper Kraigg Brathwaite declared to put Bangladesh at the crease late on, and there was no respite for the tourists against the hosts' four-man pace attack.
Zakir Hasan fell to Jayden Seales for 15, while Mahmudul Hasan Joy edged Alzarri Joseph for five shortly after being dropped, leaving Bangladesh 40-2 at stumps.
Data Debrief: Career-best for Greaves
Greaves' unbeaten 115 marked his first century in Test cricket, surpassing his previous best knock – a score of 33 versus Australia in January – by some distance.
His strike rate of 55.83 on Saturday, while steady, also bettered his effort of 55.00 during that match in Brisbane. Thanks to his efforts, Bangladesh have a real mountain to climb on day three.
Inglis hails 'hard to stop' Stoinis after ruthless knock
Josh Inglis lauded "hard to stop" Marcus Stoinis as Australia signed off their T20I series against Pakistan in style, claiming a whitewash.
The hosts raced to a seven-wicket victory with almost nine overs remaining in Monday's third match.
After Australia's bowlers had limited Pakistan to just 117 runs, Stoinis ensured they signed off their final white-ball assignment in style, with his unbeaten 61 doing the damage.
Only twice has he bettered that knock in T20Is – versus New Zealand in 2021 (78) and against Oman at the World Cup earlier this year (67*).
"It's been a great week. We've had a lot of fun as a group," Inglis said. "It's been really nice.
"When Stoinis is going like that, he is really hard to stop. One of those sixes was probably the biggest I've ever seen!"
Stoinis, who was named player of the match, added: "Nice to score some runs on a beautiful wicket but credit to the bowlers who kept the total down.
"Yeah, I actually told [Haris] Rauf that this is the first time any of us got the better of him! No, he's a brilliant bowler, bowled well this series."
During their white-ball tour, Pakistan won the ODI series, their first time doing so in Australia in 22 years, but got whitewashed in the T20Is.
Despite the heavy loss, captain Agha Salman chose to focus on the positive effect the experience will have on their young players.
"I think in the middle overs, we didn't capitalise on the start," he said. "But lots of positives.
"The way Usman [Khan] batted, the way Jahandad [Khan] bowled. These youngsters will come good.
"It's obviously a big achievement winning the ODI series, but we could have done much better in the T20Is."
Salt century gives England winning start to West Indies T20 series
Phil Salt hit a superb century as England drew first blood in their T20 series against West Indies, with a commanding eight-wicket victory at the Kensington Oval.
Salt's unbeaten 103 off 54 balls was the highlight for the tourists, who successfully chased down their target of 183 with 19 balls to spare.
The West Indies endured a difficult start and were reduced to 18-3 and later 117-8, with Saqib Mahmood (4-34) and Adil Rashid (3-32) doing the damage.
However, the hosts managed 65 runs in the last 5.2 overs to finish at 182-8, with Gukadesh Motie knocking 33 off 14 balls along the way.
Salt kick-started England's chase with 50 off just 25 deliveries taking them to 73-1 after six overs, with Will Jacks (17) dismissed with the final ball of the powerplay.
Jos Buttler's first match after four months out lasted just three minutes, as the skipper was caught by Motie for a golden duck.
However, it proved a false dawn for West Indies, with Salt and Jacob Bethall (58 from 36 balls) safely steering England to victory.
Data Debrief: Salt completes hat-trick of hundreds as Bethell makes historic half-century
England put their disappointing ODI series behind them, making history with the highest T20 chase at the Kensington Oval.
Salt was the hero with his third T20I century, all of which have come against West Indies in the past 12 months.
Bethell also made history on Saturday. Aged 21 years and 17 days, he become the youngest England player to score a 50 in a T20I.
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