Essex CCC: ECB says county fall 'significantly short' of diversity targets and are at risk of sanctions
The ECB added that "sanctions may be considered if sufficient progress is not made within agreed deadlines" as on Tuesday it published its third update on the implementation of its action plan; Sky Sports News has contacted Essex for comment on the report
Tuesday 31 May 2022 17:41, UK
The England and Wales Cricket Board has said Essex County Cricket Club have fallen "significantly short" of targets to tackle racism and promote inclusion and diversity in the game.
The ECB added that "sanctions may be considered" if sufficient progress is not made by Essex "within agreed deadlines".
The ECB published a 12-point, game-wide action plan in November day to tackle issues surrounding discrimination in the game in the wake of Azeem Rafiq's testimony to MPs about the racist abuse he suffered as a player at Yorkshire.
When publishing its third update on the implementation of its plan on Tuesday, the ECB said: "The county cricket network has achieved significant progress to increase Board diversity in line with the targets of 30% female representation and locally representative ethnicity by the end of April 2022.
"In the last six months, more than 30 organisations have appointed at least one new Non-Executive Director (NED) to their Board, with many of these involving major recruitment processes appointing multiple NEDs."
The ECB announced that 80 per cent of county organisations (40 of 50 entities) - including 12 of the first-class county clubs - have met their Board diversity targets, with extensions granted to a further nine (and five first-class counties) in line with the "comply or explain" provision.
This allows for additional time to be provided where an organisation has made positive progress in recent years and established clear action plans but has been unable to meet the deadline for genuine practical or constitutional reasons.
The ECB said it will continue to monitor and support each of these counties to ensure appropriate progress is made.
The ECB said it has placed Essex CCC in a "non-compliance process" as they "have fallen significantly short of their targets and do not yet have a clear action plan to deliver change within an appropriate timescale".
As part of this process, the ECB said: "Essex CCC must provide an updated action plan for approval by the ECB and sanctions may be considered if sufficient progress is not made within agreed deadlines."
Sky Sports News has contacted Essex for comment on the report.
