The England and Wales Cricket Board showed a lack of “backbone” in failing to call out Lord Botham’s criticism of a key report on discrimination in the sport, the chair of the report commission has told MPs.
The Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket report published last June found racism was entrenched in cricket and that women routinely experience sexism and misogyny within the sport. It found cricket was still an elitist sport with little to no focus given to addressing class barriers.
Former England all-rounder and Durham chairman Botham, 68, described the ICEC findings as “nonsense” and the commission of the report by the ECB as a “complete and utter waste of money”. He added that he had not been contacted by the ICEC for his opinions, and did not know of anyone who had.
ICEC chair Cindy Butts told MPs on the Culture Media and Sport select committee that she felt the ECB’s response to those comments had been weak.
“I was disappointed that the ECB didn’t call out Lord Botham, the chair of a first-class cricket county. His words carry weight. The ECB didn’t see fit to come out and actually say ‘this is wrong’,” she said.
“Not only did they stay quiet, they resisted calls from stakeholders and people who were concerned about Mr Botham’s comments and they chose to stay silent.
“I think they should have had a moral backbone on this issue.”
Butts said Botham’s response also raised concerns for her over how anyone blowing the whistle on discrimination at Durham might be treated.
“There are a number of untruths that he spoke about the report,” Butts said.
“But the most disappointing thing for me is that Lord Botham is the chair of a first-class county. What confidence can those within the county who may suffer racism, sexism, class-based discrimination have… that something will be done about it?
“I was personally disappointed, not least because he’s a sporting hero of mine. The impact Lord Botham had on me as a young working-class woman growing up in Shepherd’s Bush was really quite profound.”
Durham CCC have been contacted by the PA news agency for a response from Botham.
The chair, chief executive and deputy chief executive of the ECB are due to appear before the committee later on Tuesday.
Bairstow and Moeen left out of England's white-ball squad
Jonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali have both been left out of England's white-ball series squad, with five uncapped players named.
As Jos Buttler looks to the future, Warwickshire batting all-rounders, Jacob Bethell and Dan Mousley, have been given their first international call-ups for the three-match T20 series against Australia next month.
Essex batter Jordan Cox, Hampshire seamer John Turner and Leicestershire left-arm bowler Josh Hull, who was named as Mark Wood's replacement in the Test squad to play Sri Lanka, have also been picked.
The latter three will also be involved for the five one-day internationals that follow.
World Cup winners Bairstow and Moeen, who have been regular fixtures in England's white-ball squad for over a decade, could have made their final international appearances after being left out of the squad, with Chris Jordan also being overlooked.
Brydon Carse, however, has been recalled for both squads after serving a betting ban, while Saqib Mahmood returns for the T20 series after recovering from injury. Buttler will also be fit to feature after overcoming a calf injury.
Marcus Trescothick will lead England for the first time against Australia after being named Matthew Mott's interim replacement.
Mott left in July following England's semi-final exit to eventual champions India in the T20 World Cup, having also failed to help England defend their 50-over world title in 2023.
The first match of the T20 series will take place on September 11 at The Ageas Bowl in Southampton.
England T20 squad to play Australia:
Jos Buttler (captain), Jofra Archer, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Jordan Cox, Sam Curran, Josh Hull, Will Jacks, Liam Livingstone, Saqib Mahmood, Dan Mousley, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, John Turner.
England ODI squad: Jos Buttler, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Ben Duckett, Josh Hull, Will Jacks, Matthew Potts, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Jamie Smith, Reece Topley, John Turner.
Rain restricts play to 15 overs on day one between West Indies and South Africa
Aiden Markram lost his wicket as South Africa reached 45-1 before rain stopped play on day one of the first Test against West Indies.
Markram was dismissed on nine by Jason Holder (1-2) in the 14th over.
Kemar Roach (0-6) had Markram on the back foot throughout, though it was Holder who made the breakthrough with a wicked delivery that sent the South African's off-stump tumbling.
Tony de Zorzi reached 32 not-out and Tristan Stubbs was on two not-out when, during the tea break, play was abandoned for the day.
It means 75 overs of play were lost on day one in Trinidad, where play will start early on day two.
Vandersay rips through India as Sri Lanka snatch series lead
Jeffrey Vandersay tore through India's batting lineup with six wickets as Sri Lanka snatched the ODI series lead with a 32-run victory in Colombo.
Leg-spinner Vandersay managed 6-33 – his best international figures – as Rohit Sharma's tourists collapsed in remarkable fashion on Sunday, falling 1-0 down with one ODI remaining in the three-match series.
India held their hosts to a modest 240-9 in the first innings as Washington Sundar (3-30) led the way, while Avishka Fernando and Kamindu Mendis anchored at either end of the batting order with 40 apiece.
Rohit responded by crashing 64 off just 44 deliveries as India raced to 97 without loss, only for the captain to fall when attempting to reverse sweep a climbing Vandersay delivery in the 14th over.
The 34-year-old spinner would soon remove Shubman Gill, on 35, and Shivam Dube without scoring in the same over, before trapping Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer in front to complete his first ODI five-wicket haul.
KL Rahul followed to leave India struggling at 147-6, though Axar Patel offered resistance before falling on 44 to Charith Asalanka, who then removed Sundar and Mohammed Siraj.
Arshdeep Singh was then run out as a battling Sri Lanka seized control heading into the final clash on Wednesday.
Data Debrief: Vandersay becomes Sri Lanka's new Murali
Vandersay had only managed 27 wickets in 20 previous ODI innings for Sri Lanka, though added six with an eye-catching showing of leg-spin bowling here.
His previous 4-10 best in this format came against cricketing minnows Zimbabwe, but a remarkable six-wicket haul will live long in the memory after dismissing two India greats in Rohit and Kohli.
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