The England and Wales Cricket Board will on Monday outline its attempts to create a more level playing field after a damning insight into the sport earlier this year.

Following a two-year inquiry, the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC) reported racism, sexism, elitism and classism as “widespread and deep-rooted” within the sport in England and Wales.

ECB chair Richard Thompson unreservedly apologised when the findings were published in June, making the pledge in a letter to ICEC counterpart Cindy Butts: “We will use this moment to reset cricket.”

After 44 key recommendations were advanced, the ECB undertook a three-month consultation process to agree on a path of reforms and will later on today set out its actions to make cricket more inclusive.

In the interim, the ECB has acted on one of the ICEC’s proposals by announcing the England women’s team would receive the same match fees as the men following a thrilling dual Ashes summer.

A fresh £2million investment has also been ring-fenced over the next two and a half years for programmes aimed at engaging black and south Asian communities as well as state-educated children.

Ebony Rainford-Brent’s African Caribbean Engagement Programme, the South Asian Cricket Academy and the MCC Foundation join long-term partners Chance to Shine and Lord’s Taverners in sharing the funding.

Among other suggestions put forward by the ICEC are overall equal average pay at domestic level by 2029 and at international level by 2030 and a new regulatory body within 12 months, independent of the ECB.

Butts said the report highlighted the “stark reality that cricket is not a game for everyone” but expressed confidence in the ECB’s leadership to bring about the change required.

Among those to give evidence to the ICEC’s investigation was England men’s Test captain Ben Stokes, who read out a heartfelt and personally prepared statement on the day of the report’s publication.

“I am Ben Stokes; born in New Zealand, a state-educated pupil who dropped out of school at 16 with one GCSE in PE,” he said.

“I needed help with the spelling and grammar in this speech and I am currently sitting here as the England men’s Test captain.

“It is clear there is so much more the game has to do and as players we really want to be a part of that to ensure this is truly a sport for everyone.”

Heather Knight, the England women’s captain, said: “It’s been really sad to hear about anyone that’s not felt welcome in our game – nobody should be made to feel unwelcome in our sport.

“This is a really important step for cricket, and cricket – having done this report – can really lead the way in terms of being more equitable, more diverse and more inclusive.”

Anti-discrimination body Kick It Out received a 65.1 per cent rise in reports of discriminatory behaviour during the 2022-23 season – with reports of sexism and misogyny up 400 per cent.

Figures released by the organisation show 1,007 reports were made during the campaign from the grassroots and professional games and across social media, which Kick It Out puts down in part to an “increased awareness” of reporting procedures and fans becoming “less tolerant” of discriminatory behaviour.

Reports of online abuse rose by 279 per cent, with the organisation receiving 207 more reports related to online forums and social media than in the previous 12 months.

Racism was the most common form of discrimination, accounting for just under half (49.3 per cent) of all reports, while reports related to sexism and misogyny represented the largest rise in a specific discrimination type – up from 16 to 80.

Faith-based discrimination fell slightly due to a 29.5 per cent drop in the number of reports received of an antisemitic nature, but Islamophobia (300 per cent) and sectarian chanting in the professional game (15.8 per cent) were both up.

Discrimination reports in the professional game rose by 27.4 per cent to 484, which represents those received from the Premier League, English Football League and National League, domestic cups, European and international competition, Women’s Super League and Women’s Championship.

A statement from Kick It Out referred to the rise in reports as a “significant leap” that “highlights that discrimination is still a serious issue within the game”.

It added: “The record figures could also be attributed to an increased awareness of reporting procedures and fans becoming less tolerant of discriminatory behaviour.”

Racism continued to account for more than half of grassroots reports (50.8 per cent) and 43.4 per cent of overall grassroots incidents received were from under-18s or younger age-group games.

“Research conducted by Kick It Out suggests these numbers are the tip of the iceberg with many incidents still not reported,” the statement added.

Social media abuse comprised a much larger proportion of overall reports compared to previous years, making up 28 per cent of all reports received, up from 12.1 per cent last year.

Kick It Out chief executive Tony Burnett said: “The significant increase in reports across the game is alarming and strengthens our resolve to tackle discrimination in all areas of football.

“Behind each of these statistics is somebody who has sadly experienced discrimination, and supporting the victims of abuse remains Kick It Out’s utmost priority.

“While we continue to work tirelessly to Kick It Out, we call upon fans, clubs, leagues and governing bodies to help us with this cause, and we are encouraged that the number of reports per incident continues to increase, suggesting that people are becoming less tolerant of discriminatory behaviour and more likely to report abuse when they see it.

“Our figures provide a snapshot of what is happening across the game, but we still don’t know the full picture because clubs, leagues and governing bodies aren’t currently mandated to share their reporting data.

“This underscores why football urgently needs a centralised reporting mechanism to collate and monitor reports. Only once that happens can we understand the full extent of the problem within football and tackle it with the full force of the sport.”