Hawarden Cricket Club pledges a ‘zero tolerance towards racism and discrimination in all forms’

Hawarden Cricket Club has pledged a zero tolerance policy towards racism and discrimination in all forms.

It comes in the wake of revelations from former Yorkshire cricketer Azeem Rafiq and many other former professionals.

The cricket club has said diversity is its strength and being silent on racism or any form of discrimination “is being complicit.”

In a statement club Chairman Richard Penney said: “I am sure you have all seen the news recently regarding Azeem Rafiq.”

“Hawarden Park Cricket Club will not, in any form, tolerate racism, bullying or harassment.”

“We pride ourselves at being an inclusive and diverse club and social venue which welcomes all.”

“I hope that next season, as we begin the big push to raise funds for our pavilion, we will see new members from our community join us and I have no doubt that our cricket club community will welcome them all.”

“It is a moral imperative that we move quickly and decisively to right the wrongs recently exposed in our sport.”

“As a club, we will hold ourselves to account for the progress we make against the actions agreed by ourselves and our peers and we will continue to lead and stamp out behaviours which marginalise, or discriminate against, differences in our sport.”

“Being silent on racism or any form of discrimination is being complicit.”

“Our diversity is our strength, and we will ensure this message is amplified and heard throughout our club.”

The Board of Cricket Wales met on Wednesday and discussed the recent allegations and revelations regarding racism in cricket.

Cricket Wales said Directors were unanimous in their support of the principles and commitments proposed to the partners of the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB), following last week’s “All-Game” meeting at The Kia Oval.

A spokesperson said by “committing to fully adopting the measures proposed, the Board of Cricket Wales re-iterates its zero tolerance policy towards racism and discrimination, in all its forms.”

“We will continue this work in earnest, together, and redouble our efforts in the coming weeks, months and years. We will also ensure our staff and key volunteers receive the education, training and support they need to enable our game to continue to move forwards.”

Chair of Cricket Wales, Jennifer Owen Adams, said, “It is a moral imperative that we move quickly and decisively to right the wrongs recently exposed and undoubtedly many other experiences and stories not told – and it is our collective responsibility to do that.

“Actions speak louder than words.  We must model the behaviours and actions needed to make our work ring true and have an impact across the cricket network. We must ‘walk the walk’ as well as ‘talking the talk.’

“Progress will be driven by a change of culture; Behaviour ultimately drives culture changes; strategies and principles enable them but, in themselves, are not enough.  We will model the right behaviours as we go about our work – and ‘call out’ if we observe others falling short.

“Being silent on racism or any form of discrimination is being complicit.

“We will hold ourselves to account for the progress we make against the actions agreed by The Game and we will continue to lead and stump out behaviours which marginalise, or discriminate against, differences in our sport.

“Our diversity is our strength, and we will ensure this message is amplified and heard across the game in Wales.”