Former bowler calls for investigation into racism in Scottish cricket

Former bowler Majid Haq has called for an investigation into racism in Scottish cricket.

Haq, who gained over 200 caps for Scotland, said there is still “a lot to be done”, despite efforts to tackle the issue.

Speaking with BBC Scotland, he pointed to a lack of people from ethnic minority backgrounds at senior levels in cricket in the country.

If you see racism, bigotry etc but turn a blind eye to it & stay quiet then you are just as big a problem as the person who is the racist & bigot!! #speakup
— Majid Haq (@MajidHaq) November 16, 2021

“As an ethnic minority cricketer, you need to perform twice as well as a white counterpart to get the same opportunities,” he said

“Considering how many Asians play, is there enough representation in the national team? In the age groups it’s pretty good but once you get to the higher level they seem to drop away.

“I think Cricket Scotland is trying to do something but there’s still a lot to be done. We need an investigation.

“How many ethnic minorities are on the board at Cricket Scotland? How many are on the coaching staff? How many are at the top level umpiring?”

It comes after former Yorkshire player Azeem Rafiq claimed that English cricket is “institutionally” racist.

He told MPs at Westminster’s Digital, Culture, Media and Sport select committee of his own experiences of racism in the sport.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said cricket authorities must take “immediate action” in response to the evidence of Rafiq.

In a statement, Cricket Scotland said it will be reaching out to all communities to understand their experiences of playing cricket in Scotland.

They said: “Cricket Scotland believes that all sport should be a safe and welcoming environment for anyone wishing to take part.

“This week we have launched our Equality Action Plan, which has been in development for several months.

“An important part of that will be reaching out to all communities to understand their experiences of playing cricket in Scotland, both positive and negative, to better understand those experiences and inform our future actions. We will not discuss individual cases at this stage as they will form part of that outreach.”