An abuse survivor has accused the England and Wales Cricket Board of failing to protect him and “countless others” from a former Durham junior coach who has been handed a fifth prison term for sexually abusing boys.
Michael Strange, 63, was handed a two-year prison sentence at Newcastle Crown Court on Thursday after admitting indecently assaulting a 15-year-old boy in the 1990s.
Strange appeared via video link from prison, having been sentenced to 40 months in January 2022 after pleading guilty to two counts of indecent assault in November 2021.
That was the same month that the victim in this case came forward, having read media reports of Strange’s previous convictions.
In his victim personal statement, the man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said he “struggled to understand” the abuse of power and trust, and was “disappointed” by the cricket authorities for not identifying Strange’s offending earlier.
He said they had failed to protect “me and countless other vulnerable children”.
“I hope safeguarding measures are constantly reviewed to prevent similar incidents in future,” he said.
The man added in his statement: “For over 20 years the actions and behaviour of Michael Strange has been an embarrassing secret.
“I felt disgust, shame and guilt, but never had the courage to speak to anyone until now.”
Prosecutor Neil Pallister said Strange approached the complainant, who was 15 at the time of the assault, saying he was a cricket scout and offering him the chance to play senior cricket at his club.
“This was a big step up from the children’s cricket the complainant had been playing and he was keen to take up the opportunity,” Mr Pallister said.
The court heard Strange befriended the teenager and his parents, and frequently offered lifts to and from training sessions.
On the night of the assault the victim had gone back to Strange’s house after a match and was waiting for his parents to pick him up when Strange put pornography on the television, it was said.
Mr Pallister told the court Strange started massaging the teenager’s genitals, initially over his trousers before putting his hand inside and “touching the skin of his genitals”.
“The defendant was talking graphically about pornography and what he wanted to do to the complainant as he was touching him,” he said.
The ordeal lasted between 20 and 30 minutes until the teenager saw the headlights of his father’s car shining in the window, the court heard.
Strange told the victim to tell his parents they had been talking about cricket, Mr Pallister said.
“He said the incident has always lingered at the back of his mind for 20-plus years.
“When he saw news reports about previous wrongdoing by the defendant he thought he should come forward.”
Strange entered a guilty plea to the indecent assault charge on August 9 at South Shields Magistrates’ Court, with the matter referred to crown court for sentencing.
The following day the ECB confirmed it would conduct an internally-led review of Strange’s offending. That followed calls from another of Strange’s victims for a wider review into abuse in cricket in an interview with the PA news agency in October last year.
In December 2022, the NSPCC Child Protection in Sport Unit, who audit national governing bodies annually, concluded the ECB is meeting the unit’s safeguarding standards.
Strange was a coach affiliated to Durham County Cricket Club and coached at local clubs in the north-east.
Police started investigating Strange in 2005, however the first victim was not able to proceed with the complaint and it was not until 2011 when police were able to gather sufficient evidence to submit a case to the CPS and obtain charges that allowed for Strange to be convicted for the first time in 2012.
He has since been sentenced for historic child abuse offences linked to cricket in 2016, 2020, 2022 and now 2023.
Northumbria Police and the ECB have been approached for comment following Thursday’s sentencing.
Asalanka leads Sri Lanka to ODI series win over West Indies
Sri Lanka wrapped up the ODI series against the West Indies with a five-wicket victory in Pallekele.
The hosts successfully chased down their opponents' total of 189, giving them an unassailable 2-0 in the three-match series.
Sri Lanka controlled the early powerplay - Asitha Fernando (3-35) and Maheesh Theekshana (3-25) took two wickets apiece to leave the tourists at 31-4 in the ninth over.
Wanindu Hasaranga (4-40) then claimed three of his four wickets as Roston Chase, Romario Shepherd, Hayden Walsh and Alzarri Joseph were all dismissed in the space of 14 balls.
However, Sherfane Rutherford (80 off 82 balls) and Gudakesh Motie (50 not out) steadied the ship to take the Windies from 58-8 to 189.
Although Joseph claimed Avishka Fernando (9) in the fourth over, Nishan Madushka and Sadeera Samarawickrama both chipped in with contributions of 38 to get the hosts to 112-4.
Skipper Charith Asalanka (62 not out) led the charge thereon, while Kamindu Mendis (11) comfortably got them over the line with 34 balls remaining.
Data Debrief: Rutherford-Motie historic stand proves academic for tourists
West Indies were looking to level the series, but their hopes were not aided by Sri Lanka's impressive bowling.
Rutherford and Motie did their best. Their partnership brought 119 runs, which is their nation's highest ninth-wicket stand in ODI history, breaking the previous record of 85 between Yannic Cariah and Alzarri Joseph.
However, it ultimately proved in vain as the hosts secured the series with a game to spare.
'I was a tired, grumpy old man' - Stokes apologised to England team-mates after Pakistan defeat
Ben Stokes says he apologised to his England team-mates after his frustrations were evident during the second-Test defeat by Pakistan.
The hosts levelled the three-Test series on Thursday after wrapping up a 152-run win in Multan.
However, it could have been a different story but for fielding errors at crucial stages for the visitors, Jamie Smith and Joe Root notably dropping catches to dismiss Salman Agha, whose subsequent knock of 63 helped Pakistan seal victory with a day to spare.
Stokes, who returned to action following a hamstring injury, could not hide his frustration during a difficult day for England, but insisted he would not let his emotions get the better of him again.
"No one means to drop catches, but it just proves how important catches are in these subcontinent conditions, they don't come along that often," he told Sky Sports.
"I actually apologised to the group last night. It's the first time in my captaincy that I've let my emotions and how I was feeling with the way the game was unfolding show in my body language.
"I owned up to that and was very annoyed at myself for letting that out. It's something that I don't want to do or be seen to be doing, so I apologised to the group about that.
"Poor old me, I was a tired, grumpy old man last night! You won't see that happen again."
However, England coach Brendon McCullum defended the actions of his skipper.
"We all know how passionate Ben is, how much it means for him to play for England," he said.
"We've seen that through his bloody-mindedness to get back from injury, which was significant, and to do so in a nine-week timeframe and to have his first TM [Test match] in extreme conditions, 40 degrees, and be able to give what he gave to the side.
"I think, maybe, that's where some of that frustration led to - certainly, it wasn't directed at any of the players. It was more about trying to assess the rhythm of the game, and to impact on it."
Sri Lanka breeze to series win over West Indies
Sri Lanka cruised to a nine-wicket victory over West Indies to seal a T20I series triumph.
With the series delicately poised at 1-1 heading into the final match on Thursday, Sri Lanka started with intent in Dambulla.
Maheesh Theekshana (2-19) and Wanindu Hasaranga (2-24) led the charge as Sri Lanka skittled through the Windies' top order.
Rovman Powell's stubborn 37 and a contribution of 32 from Gudakesh Motie steered West Indies to a reasonable total of 162-8, but it was one well within reach of Sri Lanka.
Pathum Nissanka clipped seven fours and one six in a 22-ball 37 to get Sri Lanka's chase rolling at pace, before he was bowled by Gudakesh Mottie (1-31).
Yet the damage was mostly done, with Kusal Mendis powering his way to an unbeaten 68 and Kusal Perera plundering 55 from 36 balls to get the job done with the minimum of fuss.
Data Debrief: Perera closing in on Sri Lanka record
Perera is now just nine runs away from surpassing Tillakaratne Dilshan (1,889) as the leading scorer in Sri Lanka's T20I history.
His efforts, combined with those of Nissanka and Mendis, saw Sri Lanka win for a fourth time in their last six T20Is at Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, although this is the first time they have won at the venue in that run when batting second.
The Windies' miserable record in Asia has continued, meanwhile. They have won only one of their last 11 T20Is in Asia (L10), with that victory coming in the first match of this series. They have now lost 33 T20Is on the continent in total, with only Ireland (35) having lost more.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
