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The head of the ECB says the English game is close to “emergency” due to diversity issues

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Cricket England is close to an emergency because it has not tackled the problems of diversity, according to Tom Harrison, Director General of the England and Wales Cricket Commission (ECB).

Harrison was questioned on Tuesday by members of the British Parliamentary Committee since former Yorkshire player Azeem Rafiq told a horrific account of racial violence at the club, which he felt was “isolated and humiliated”.

Yorkshir’s response to an independent report on Rafiq’s allegations drew widespread criticism and the ECB’s suspension of Yorkshire as a host of international games led to the club also losing its main sponsors.

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Harrison told the panel that the management of the report “talks about institutional racism”.

“We are aware of the importance of this agenda, in addition to racism, diversity and equity. What we have fought for is to awaken our primary game.

“If we’re not in an emergency, we’re getting closer.”

Addressing members of the government’s Digital, Culture, Media and Sports Committee, Harrison praised Rafiq’s “courage” in speaking out about Yorkshi’s treatment.

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“We need to start studying locker room culture across the country,” Harrison said. “The ECB is putting a lot of effort into that, but it takes time to move forward.”

Rafiq, who was born in Pakistan but grew up in Barnsley and a captain under the age of 19 in England, had previously told panel members he would not want his son “near cricket” after his experience of racism.

Asked about the perception of English cricket and the damage caused by allegations of racism, Harrison said: “Please understand that I would really feel sorry for the experiences you had in cricket in this country.

“We know we failed you. We’ll fix it quickly. We know the survival of our sport depends on that. We’re going to transform this game very quickly.”

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