England captain Joe Root: "Hopefully this year we can really start to make a difference. We want to make our game more diverse and do as much as we can in that regard to grow the game and make everyone feel comfortable playing cricket."
Wednesday 2 June 2021 06:03, UK
England and New Zealand will join in a ‘moment of unity’ at Lord’s to support the campaign towards racial equality before the start of the first Test on Wednesday, Joe Root has confirmed.
The two teams will stand in silence around the boundary edge, although they will not take a knee as was the case at the start of England's international summer last year, when they met West Indies at the Ageas Bowl.
Players across the domestic game adopted a similar gesture at the beginning of the County Championship season in April, to coincide with the introduction of a new anti-discrimination code of conduct by the ECB.
England captain Root confirmed: "We will be taking a moment of unity at the start of the game. New Zealand will also be doing that, they're happy to work alongside us and support us in that manner.
"We've spent a lot of time talking about how we can better our sport, and how we can educate ourselves more. I think this year is all about action, about actually doing something about it.
"We've worked with the PCA (Professional Cricketers' Association) and the ECB and hopefully this year we can really start to make a difference, keep that conversation current and make sure it is a game for everyone.
"We want to make our game more diverse and do as much as we can in that regard to grow the game and make everyone feel comfortable playing cricket."
Root stated that he and fellow England players will be contributing to a trio of projects over the coming months, designed to broaden cricket's appeal among more diverse communities within the UK.
"I think the most valuable role we have as players is to give our time and that is exactly what we're looking to do," he added.
"In many ways, we are the shop window of our sport - we're at the top of the pyramid and we want to help as much as we can. If we can make a difference, we're very keen to do that.
"We're trying to work not just as an international team but throughout cricket - with the grassroots and the game's partners as well, trying to do as much as we can to really make a difference."
Sky Sports pundit and former West Indies bowler Michael Holding last week reiterated his fervent support for taking a knee as a vital factor in the battle to stamp out racial prejudice.
He told The Cricket Show: "It takes a huge amount of work to get this thing done. Until I can see that on a regular basis, action being taken and progress being made, if I were a sportsman right now, I would be taking a knee.
"I would be bruising my knee. Bruising my knee until I go into my grave."
Watch the first Test between England and New Zealand, at Lord's, live on Sky Sports Cricket from 10am on Wednesday.
