Cricket Scotland delaying appointment of new chief executive until racism review published | Cricket News

Ongoing independent review into racism in Scottish cricket published next month; Scotland’s all-time leading wicket-taker Majid Haq accused Cricket Scotland of being “institutionally racist” in November 2021; hundreds of people opened up about their experiences of discrimination in April

Cricket Scotland will delay appointing a permanent chief executive officer until after the ongoing independent review into racism in Scottish cricket is published next month.

An anonymous consultation survey was launched in April as part of a wider consultation exercise currently being undertaken by Plan4Sport in the wake of former Scotland players Majid Haq and Qasim Sheikh alleging the governing body overseeing the sport in the country was “institutionally racist”.

However, at this stage the Cricket Scotland board felt it was appropriate to pause the process until after the outcome of the independent review is known.

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Scotland’s all-time leading wicket-taker Majid Haq claims Cricket Scotland is ‘institutionally racist’ after opening up about the abuse he suffered during his career

Interim chair of Cricket Scotland, Sue Strachan, said: “We interviewed several candidates late last month.

“However, as a board we were clear from the outset that we had to be absolutely sure that we were in a position to appoint the right person for this important role, particularly given the timing of the independent review into racism in Scottish cricket.

“After careful and lengthy consideration, the board has decided against making a permanent appointment at this time.

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Cricket Scotland president, Sue Strachan says trust will be vital after the country’s national agency for sport announced it is appointing a team of independent experts to carry out a full review of racism within Scottish cricket

“Instead, we will wait for the independent review recommendations so that we are in the best possible position to appoint a candidate to lead our organisation during a period of real importance for Scottish cricket.

“Once the review is published, we will start a new recruitment process as a matter of priority.”

Hundreds come forward for Cricket Scotland’s review into racism

In April, hundreds of people opened up about their experiences of discrimination and equality as part of an independent review into racism within Scottish cricket.

In November last year, Scotland’s all-time leading wicket-taker Majid Haq claimed Cricket Scotland was “institutionally racist” after he and former team-mate Qasim Sheikh opened up about the abuse they suffered during their careers.

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Majid Haq’s lawyer Aamer Anwar tells Cricket Scotland ‘actions speak louder than words’ after admitting to racism within the sport

Cricket Scotland vowed to investigate and deal with any allegations of racism or harassment and an interim update on the review – of which full findings and recommendations will be shared by the end of July 2022 – has surfaced other issues including misogyny, leadership, and governance concerns within the sport.

Phil Yelland, the newly appointed president of Cricket Scotland, apologised to those who had suffered from racism or other forms of discrimination and stressed regaining the trust of those affected is “a key issue”.

Speaking to Sky Sports News, Yelland said: “We have apologised and I would again apologise to those who have suffered racism in the sport because that’s not right.

“The work that Plan4Sport are doing is really important because we need to get the full picture, not simply of racism but of other discrimination in the sport. And we need to be able to work on that and improve it, so the sport is welcoming for everybody who wants to be involved in it.

“I think it’s important to say we’ve already started some work with EDI [equality, diversity and inclusion] training for board, council members and staff.”

Yelland, who only assumed the role of president on April 12, added: “Rebuilding trust is absolutely a key issue for us. There is no doubt at all about that.

“We’re looking for a new CEO and that is one of the things they clearly will be looking to do. Our interim CEO is already looking to do that, trying to reach out and engage with people who have had difficulties to try and start to rebuild that trust.

“Because without that trust you can’t really make change.”