Ben Stokes responds to damning discrimination in cricket report

As part of the 44 recommendations laid out by the ICEC, the independent body demanded an unreserved public apology from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

Ben Stokes, the New Zealand born state educated pupil who dropped out of school at 16 with one GCSE in PE, told the press: “To the people involved in the game who have been made to feel unwelcome or unaccepted in the past. I am deeply sorry to hear of your experiences.

"Cricket is a game that needs to celebrate diversity on all fronts, because without diversity this game would not be where it is at today.

"As a sport, we need to learn from past mistakes and do all we can to make people feel safe and be themselves at every level."

He added: "We must go further and be more inclusive and diverse because the game I love and millions worldwide love should be enjoyed without fear of discrimination or judgement whether that be due to your upbringing, race or gender."

"It is clear there is so much more the game has to do and as players we really want to be a part of that to ensure this is truly a sport for everyone.”

The ICEC based its report, coined Holding Up A Mirror To Cricket, on evidence from 4,000 survey respondents across recreational and professional cricket.

The report’s chair, Cindy Butts, said she had heard about problems "throughout cricket, including in the England dressing room.”

Butts noted: “One in two, that’s 50 per cent of people told us that they experience both racism, sexism and class-based discrimination.”

She added: “We heard of women being constantly stereotyped, demeaned, facing predatory behaviour. We heard from women who are having to walk into scoreboxes and face signs that say ‘no bras allowed’.”

In response, ECB chair Richard Thompson said: "We will use this moment to reset cricket."

The report takes particular aim at the influence of private schools in developing cricketers and the lack of state schools electing to play cricket as reasoning for discrimination.

The report highlights that 58 per cent of men who played for England in 2021 were privately educated, which is higher than the 7 per cent of the general population who went to private school.

When pressed to give comment about the report, Australian captain Pat Cummins admitted that he had not read the ICEC report, but noted: "I have been playing for 12 years now, we are all a little bit better than we were.

"We think more about how we act than we did 12 years ago.

"It is just a continuing learning process and something we try to be really minded about.

"I love that we have some real diversity in our team. It is a real strength of ours - celebrating everyone's individuality.

"I hope anyone that walks into our dressing room, or Australian cricket, whether playing or at a ground, feels like welcome, appreciated and respected."

Australia men's team sealed a two wicket victory in the first Ashes test at Edgbaston, while the Australia women's team beat England by 89 runs.