Former umpires accuse England Cricket Board of institutional racism

Two former international umpires, John Holder and Ismail Dawood have accused the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) of "institutionalised racism".

Holder officiated in one-day international and Test matches. He said that the matter looked "more than suspicious" when he did not receive any reply from the ECB when he offered to be a mentor.

Meanwhile, Dawood claimed to have heard racist language that was used in front of senior ECB staff. Unfortunately, according to him, the scenario went unchallenged.

It is understood that the duo has requested an independent investigation from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). According to them, only the EHRC has the ability "to challenge organisations like the ECB."

Before becoming an umpire, Dawood used to keep wickets in county cricket for Worcestershire, Glamorgan, and Yorkshire. According to BBC, Dawood has admitted to having "absolutely no trust or confidence in the ECB." He didn't stop there, as he continued calling the organisation a "complete mess."

Interestingly, it has been 28 years since the last time an Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) umpire was added to the ECB's first-class list. It was Vanburn Holder. He retired in 2010, and since then there hasn't been any BAME recruitment drive initiated by the ECB.

Meanwhile, an ECB spokesperson said that the group of professional umpires who have brought these allegations against the board doesn't reflect the diverse ECB that they are determined to be. The spokesperson also claimed that his team wants to "see more BAME representation among our officials." He admitted that they have to travel a long way before they can achieve their diversity goal.

It has been revealed that the person whom Dawood accused of using discriminatory language in front of senior managers was suspended. However, he was cleared of wrongdoing.

Dawood, who umpired first-class matches and stood on the ECB reserve list, said: "If that sort of language was used elsewhere, people would lose their jobs. I have absolutely no trust or confidence in the ECB. All the way down to the grassroots it is a complete mess and that is why we need it to be investigated. The complaints we have made shows the institutionalised, structured racism as well as discrimination, cronyism, bullying, and dishonesty that has been part of our lives being involved in the ECB."

Meanwhile, Holder said that he has raised the issue but ECB hasn't yet replied to his email.

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