This is a bittersweet week for cricket. Both the Men’s and Women’s Ashes series have burst into life, but now threaten to be overshadowed by the report published earlier this week by the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC).
The ICEC Report (“the Report”) highlights what we must all do to make our great game a game for everyone. The Report is about as damning as one could imagine. It confirms that significant change is needed, and it is needed now.
In 2021 Hampton Wick Royal Cricket Club adopted its Community and People Plan. It aspires for ‘The Wick to be at the heart of the communities and people of Hampton Wick, and to become the most inclusive sports club in London’.
It contains many objectives which were also outlined in the findings and recommendations of the Report. Today, we restate our commitment to be a club truly inclusive and open to all, with renewed vigour. We also recognise we have much work still to do in many areas that the Report covers.
The club’s Main Committee will digest, reflect and act on the Report’s findings in the coming weeks, months and years. The Community and People Plan is being worked through, and this Report will bring fresh impetus and ideas to this process.
Your views and actions matter so if anyone wants to help, feels inspired, or has any ideas please do get in touch with us. The Wick is what its members are, and what they make if it. If ever we as a community needed to work together as one, it is now.