CRICKET WALES' COMMITMENT TO EQUITY, DIVERSITY & INCLUSION (EDI)
We know that Cricket powerfully connects all elements of our communities and improves lives. Cricket in Wales has set out to widen participation and importantly make the game more inclusive, welcoming for all and therefore more diverse. This has been the plan for Cricket Wales for more than 10 years.
"We encourage all to speak up on the subjects of racism, elitism, sexism or any form of discrimination.
“We are committed to being accountable here, via our EDI sub committee whose purpose is to scrutinise and add value to our work making the game more inclusive for the progress we make against the actions in our own plans, and the ECB's series of standards as well as the challenge from the 2023 hard hitting ICEC (Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket) report.
"One ongoing area of work is to encourage and set the standard for a really warm welcome to all across all cricket clubs and challenge behaviours which might marginalise, or discriminate against, differences in our sport. “Cricket in Wales is becoming more and more diverse and this is a great strength” - Mark Frost EDI lead and Development Manager
EDI-Document-Cricket Wales
Cricket Wales has long demonstrated its commitment to Equity, Diversity & Inclusion over the last 10 years, through various plans and initiatives, and has proactively sought to achieve independent accreditation in this area. We were re-accredited at the Intermediate Level for the Equality Standard for Sport in 2020 and eagerly await the new Standards.
We were also extremely proud to win the EDI Award at the inaugural Welsh Sports Association Sports Industry Awards in June 2023.
We were highly commended for our work in this area by the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in Spring 2023
Cricket Wales' Equity, Diversity and Inclusion work is is steered by a long-standing Board sub-committee, currently chaired by Sue Phelps MBE, Independent Director, Cricket Wales.
Building on our existing strategy, in March 2022, the first ever joint EDI plan across both Cricket Wales and Glamorgan Cricket was launched. The :-Summary is here or full edition here
Cricket in Wales unveils Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Plan News | Cricket Wales
Cricket Wales and Glamorgan Cricket have also jointly held 2 annual EDI workshops, bringing together other sport NGBs, partners, funders and subject matter experts.
Here is a short viedo to summarise our journey to date in respect of EDI, and why this area of work is so critical to us.
Cricket Wales Equality Statement
The goal of our joint plan is to ‘Transform Cricket in Wales into a place where everyone feels they are respected, belong and are treated fairly'
Our commitment statement to summarise Cricket Wales' intent in this area is as follows;
Diversity is integral to Cricket Wales. The mix of people that Cricket inspires and welcomes, both into our game and into our organisation, is our strength - and will ultimately only help to grow Cricket's reach and relevance across Wales.
In support of all our staff and participants in Cricket in Wales, Cricket Wales is committed to and accountable for advancing equity, diversity and inclusion in all its forms, so that it is embedded throughout the game.
Equality Action Plan
The Cricket Wales Equality Action Plan is regularly updated and scrutinised by our EDI sub-committee.
Here follows further examples of our work and some of cricket's initiatives around inclusion.
Join Jason Mohammad as he takes a deep dive into how the look and feel of cricket clubs are changing for the better, how inclusive our clubs in Wales.
All three podcasts are avaialbe at https://podfollow.com/cricketwales
You can watch each one as well here:-
- Welcoming physical club environments
- The current experience for women and girls.
- How inclusive our clubs in Wales are regarding ethnically diverse communities
SOME OF OUR OTHER MAIN AREAS OF WORK
THE ADVANCED LEVEL OF THE EQUALITY STANDARD FOR SPORT:
Cricket Wales has worked hard to be re-accredited at the Intermediate standard of the Equality Standard for Sport (UK benchmark). We celebrate and explain more in this film
While the Standards are currently under review, our aspiration remains to to achieve the Advanced Level criteria (or equivalent level of certification) by 2024.
Cricket in Diverse Communities
The Cricket Wales Diverse Communities development programmes promote and encourage the playing of cricket, whether that be pop-up cricket, women’s softball cricket or other formats, amongst people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities, providing opportunities for them to develop their playing abilities and to progress in the suitable pathways.
Our Diverse Communities Officer for Cardiff & Newport was featured by Sport Wales in summer 2021 - you can read more here.
Our 2021 affiliated club audit showed a growth, from 2018, of average membership of 6-8% of Black Asian and Minority Ethnic participants, to 10-11%; The biggest increase being among u18 girls (6.7% to 10.7%). This rose again in 2022; Overall club membership proportion from minority ethnic groups is now 13% in senior sections and 18% among junior players (against, statistically, a national representative proportion of the population of 5%)
In All Stars Cricket and Dynamos in Wales in 2021, 7.8% of participants (parents) identified as Black Asian and Minority Ethnic. This was as high as 12.2% in the Dynamos programme.
Community Cohesion Cricket Cup
The Cardiff Community Cohesion Cup was created primarily to reach out to diverse communities across Cardiff and to bring communities together through the medium of cricket, where such connections would not normally happen.
It started in 2016 and culminates in a local final between two community teams at a local cricket venue and then the winners play the grand finale, against a mixed team of South Wales Police officers and former Glamorgan players at Sophia Gardens. The first Cohesion Cup took place in 2016 with just 6 teams competing, this then grew to eight teams in 2017, with 10 teams competing since 2018.
Refugee and Asylum Seeker Cricket Offer
Our Refugee and Asylum Seeker Cricket Offer brings young refugees and asylum-seekers together to play sport, make friends and build confidence. Our team work closely with providers of services to these groups such as The Oasis Centre, Welsh Refugee Council and Trinity Centre and often deliver the session at their locations - the providers also give advice at the sessions and throughout the week, supporting the young cricketers with asylum and welfare issues, and helping them to navigate their way safely and positively in society.
CRICKET WALES DISABILITY CRICKET:
Our work involves a range of development hubs in schools and communities and higher-level talent sessions that feed into Wales squads (performance and development). The Welsh squad toured Sri Lanka in 2019.
Cricket Wales are currently working towards the InSport Silver standard.
Making cricket a gender-balanced game
Creating a supply of activity for female only, safe and confident sessions. It’s safe to say there’s never been a more exciting time for Women's & Girls' cricket and this is reflected in the ECB’s strategy for 2020-2024. There are considerable opportunities in the existing cricket club network to grow participation for women and girls. The launch of All Stars Cricket and Dynamos Cricket and women's soft ball festivals has introduced new female players into the game and they now need an effective club offer to enable them to play regularly.
The ECB are committed to driving cricket’s progress to become a gender-balanced sport, acknowledging that the area of women and girls is the biggest opportunity for growth in cricket. To achieve this the ECB intends to invest in the development of every level of the game from the grassroots to the elite, as well as supporting female coaches, officials and administrators. Cricket Wales are committed to facilitating the implementation of this vision.
Some of the areas of our work to make the game more gender-balanced are: -
- Improving the hardball network of clubs to make this more mature and fed into new ECB pathway structures; In 2023, we launched the first ever Wales-only Premier League. Other highlights include:
- 658% growth in women's participation (2013-2021)
- 64% of clubs in Wales now offer cricket for female participants (average in English counties is 10-20%)
- Averaging 30% Girls' participation in All Stars & Dynamos (2022)
- A full suite of hardball and soft ball league competitions across Wales
- 14% of club committee positions now held by women
- Our 3 full-time Women's & Girls’ Officers continue to embed and grow offers for female participants across the country.
For more information, see our section on Women's & Girls' Cricket. and to read more about our partnership with Fab Little Bag and Freda, to improve the off-field experience for women and girls in Wales, click here
MCC Foundation Hubs
We are delighted to be expanding our work with the MCC Foundation, with an increase in opportunities for young people to access cricket through MCC Foundation Hubs in North and SE Wales.
Wicketz
Wicketz is a cricket programme for young people aged 8-16 living in deprived communities, jointly-funded by the Lords Taverners and Cricket Wales.
By establishing sustainable community cricket hubs, we provide year-round weekly cricket sessions with a focus on addressing social issues relevant to the area, breaking down barriers, developing life skills, creating stronger communities and enabling brighter futures for those taking part.
You can read more about our Partnership with Lord's Taverners here
Chance to Shine Street Cricket
We were delighted, in summer 2022, to bring Chance to Shine Street to Wales for the first time ever. We hope to expand this scheme rapidly across Wales to up to 15 hubs. You can read more here.
Bursary Scheme for Regional Cricket
While we will always work extremely hard to keep participant costs to a minimum, within the constraints of current and future funding, this bursary scheme was devised and launched alongside the new Regional Pathway in 2021 with the specific goal of removing any barriers to participation, where such costs are prohibitive.
You will find more details on this scheme here.
LGBTQ+
We are engaged with with Stonewall Cymru, LGBT Sport Cymru, Pride Cymru and support the Rainbow Laces initiative. In early summer of 2023 we hosted a webinar for clubs aimed at helping them to be more welcoming of players from the LGBTQ+ community.
Welsh Language
To read more about our commitment to The Welsh Language, please see this section of website - and please also check out the latest free resources from Dysgu Cymraeg to help clubs with their use of Welsh in activities.
Creating a Club for EVERYONE; A toolkit to help your Club
This toolkit is in three parts to help have focused conversations that start with the basics. Clubs are encouraged to progress through each part at their own pace.
Click here to download the slides which will guide you through the process.
Inclusive Language
The England & Wales Cricket Board have created a guide to Inclusive Language in Cricket which can be found here
Diversity Calendar 2023:
Click here for key days in the year celebrating different themes.
Reporting Discrimination (yn Gymraeg isod)
Discrimination has NO place in cricket.
Both Cricket Wales and ECB are committed to taking all allegations of discrimination within cricket in England and Wales very seriously. We want to ensure that anyone can report it in the knowledge that we will act appropriately.
To report anything to which you have been subjected, or have witnessed, you can do so here.
YOU CAN REPORT WHAT YOU HAVE EXPERIENCED OR WITNESSED ANONYMOUSLY BY ENTERING [email protected] IN THE EMAIL ADDRESS FIELD.
IF YOU WISH TO BE IDENTIFIED AND/OR CONTACTED IN RELATION TO WHAT YOU HAVE EXPERIENCED OR WITNESSED, PLEASE INCLUDE YOUR NAME AND CONTACT DETAILS.
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