Cricket Scotland facing new crisis as independent report slams sexist culture

Cricket Scotland is facing a fresh crisis following the publication of a damning new report that calls into question the organisation's culture and attitude towards women.

The McKinney Report, an independent neutral assessment carried out by a leading Scottish HR firm, found a "high degree of prejudice towards female staff and players" within Cricket Scotland, adding that "antiquated attitudes and behaviour towards women in the game are still prevalent, particularly at club level".

The 35-page report, published on Monday, comes just two years after Cricket Scotland was found to be institutionally racist by another independent review - entitled "Changing The Boundaries" and carried out by Plan4Sport - in July 2022.

That document, which found 448 separate examples of racism and discrimination within Scottish cricket, led to the entire Cricket Scotland board resigning on the eve of its publication.

The McKinney report analysed behaviours, cultures and practices within Cricket Scotland, both prior to the publication of the Changing the Boundaries report in 2022, and in the two years since. Its six key themes covered culture and inclusion, leadership, general behaviours, employment practices and wellbeing, psychological safety and sexism and misogyny.

Nine recommendations have been developed, with its priorities centred around general behaviours, and sexism and misogyny.

Trudy Lindblade, Cricket Scotland's CEO, said: "This report is a damning indictment of the treatment of female players and staff within our organisation. It is evident that Cricket Scotland allowed behaviours to take place that were disrespectful, demeaning and deeply concerning, and that these were allowed to continue for a significant period.

"This is completely unacceptable, and I wholeheartedly apologise to every single person who was affected and let down by the governing body.

"This report also highlights the huge amount of work that we need to do throughout cricket in Scotland to improve the standing of women and girls within our sport.

"We are committed to making the governing body and our sport welcoming and safe for all women and girls, and together with our regional associations and clubs we will work collectively to ensure there is no place for misogyny, sexism, or discrimination of any kind within our sport. Our new strategy, which is to be released shortly, will put the health and growth of women and girls' cricket at its forefront.

"Several of the recommendations from the McKinney Report are already underway, but there is still a significant amount of work to be done by Cricket Scotland, our regions, and our clubs to affect the change that is needed.

"Cricket Scotland now has a robust disciplinary and complaints process in place, and I would strongly urge anyone who has been affected by the findings of the report and who feels they need to raise a complaint to use this process. These recently established processes demonstrate that Cricket Scotland is capable of handling matters in a transparent and considered manner."