LONDON: English county side Essex have been fined £100,000 ($131,000) after admitting a failure to address “systemic” racist language and conduct at the cricket club between 2001 and 2010.
Half of Essex’s fine is suspended for two years and the county have also been cautioned over their future conduct after being reprimanded by the Cricket Regulator (CR).
The CR panel said the length of time covered by the charge and the systemic use of racist and discriminatory language suggested a culture that was “embedded” across most levels of the club.
The panel added: “This conduct continued without meaningful challenge from either Essex’s management or other senior playing members of the club even when it was brought to their attention.”
The panel accepted in mitigation Essex’s early admission of the charge and the punishments handed to individuals arising from the separate independent review commissioned by the club.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB)’s own investigation had been prompted by allegations of racism made by former players Jahid Ali, Maurice Chambers and Zoheb Sharif.
ECB chief executive Richard Gould said: “Racism has no place in our sport. I’m appalled by what those who experienced racism at Essex have been through, and the way this behavior could become normalized.
“It is vital that as a sport we listen and learn from their experiences, and ensure that no one suffers like that again.
“I welcome the action Essex has taken in recent years to address these issues and become a more inclusive club, and the commitment it has shown to make further progress.”

Chennai, India: Indian cricket fans are traditionally obsessed with batsmen but star pacemen, including yorker king Jasprit Bumrah, were finally bringing overdue recognition to the side’s bowlers, coach Gautam Gambhir said Wednesday.

Gambhir took over from Rahul Dravid in July and will oversee his first Test for India in a two-match series against Bangladesh in Chennai from Thursday.

The 42-year-old former opener praised India’s world-class bowlers for making a difference to the set-up.

“It has not happened many times in India where we have started talking about the bowler now. It has always been about batters, batters, batters. India at one stage was a batting-obsessed nation,” Gambhir told reporters.

“Jasprit Bumrah is the best fast bowler in the world in all three formats,” he said.

“It’s an honor that we have got someone like Jasprit Bumrah sitting in that dressing room who can make a difference at any stage of the game.”

Bumrah’s slinging action has a knack for choking an opposition’s flow of runs and bagging wickets.

The 30-year-old has claimed 159 Test wickets since his debut in 2018.

Spin bowling usually prospers on Indian pitches and the hosts’ chances are likely to hinge on Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.

Ashwin has claimed 516 wickets, while Jadeja, a left-hander who is also an attacking batsman, is six short of 300.

“India has been fortunate that we have got people like Ashwin and Jadeja, and they have bowled well in tandem, and we know what they can contribute,” Gambhir said.

“Those two can create a lot of impact in Indian conditions.”

Gambhir, a talented left-handed batsman who played a key role in India’s ODI World Cup win in 2011, coached Kolkata Knight Riders to an Indian Premier League title this year.

The former politician is also known for his short fuse and once had an ugly on-field altercation with Virat Kohli during an IPL match.

But Gambhir said he had good relations with all the senior players, including Kohli and ODI and Test skipper Rohit Sharma.

“My relationship with all the senior players has been really good,” he said.

“Sometimes people have made a lot of hue and cry about other things, but that’s not true.”

India remain clear favorites on home soil, but Bangladesh last month celebrated a landmark 2-0 series sweep in Pakistan — their first series win over the Asian rivals.

“We played very good cricket against Pakistan but that is the past,” Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto said.

“That gives us confidence, but we are here to play a good series.”

Commentators have disparaged Bangladesh in earlier series for lacking emotional restraint, affecting their on-field performance.

But Najmul said that characterization was a thing of the past.

“A lot of players (have been) playing for the last 10-15 years and are experienced,” he said. “We don’t get very emotional now.”