Holding Up A Mirror To Cricket
Making cricket a game for all
Our partnership
The ICEC was set up by the English Cricket Board (ECB) to examine questions of equity in relation to race, gender and class within the sport. Coldr’s role is to act as strategic communications partner, forming an independent press office to promote the Call for Evidence (CfE) and launch the report.
Our approach
We approached this with a strategic focus on media, stakeholders weighing out risks, and opportunities. The team successfully promoted the CoE, securing a strong evidence base with 4,000+ survey responses and report launch. When preparing for the report launch, we aimed to highlight the realities of discrimination and inequity in cricket and effect positive change.
Strategic media consultancy:
The team effectively addressed risks related to leaks and validity concerns, ensuring the report’s core messages were conveyed effectively. For example, the cricketing community has been described as an “old boys network”, so releasing information about the report ahead of publication was risky. There was also a risk of the report being described as “woke”, undermining important core messages. We prepared the ICEC chair, Cindy Butts, for media interviews with preparation answers if there were criticisms. This resulted in her coming across knowledgeable, authoritative and confidence - validating the report through her own conviction
We walked the line of keeping the cricketing press on side while turning down interview requests that wouldn’t serve the overall media strategy
The ICEC was wide ranging, describing the inequalities faced by multiple underrepresented groups. We tailored the press materials to specific audiences and national media and developed specific pitches for women’s , Black, Asian and education press.
Results
We secured 83 pieces of media coverage for the CfE and more than 3000 pieces of coverage for the report launch and a total viewership[/listenership of 600 million from interviews with major outlets such as BBC, Sky News and ITV. Prime minister, Rishi Sunak, commented, making the rare decision to describe his own experiences of racism and we worked closely with a Ch4 documentary team on “Is Cricket Racist” documentary, serialising core findings and including the report.
And what’s more
The ECB responded positively and acted on the first recommendation - an apology to all victims of discrimination
Overwhelmingly positive coverage
Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, commented, making the rare decision to describe his own experiences of racism
Working closely with a Ch4 documentary team for more than a year. The ‘Is Cricket Racist’ documentary, serialising core findings and including the report in the title credits was delayed until July to allow for the report publication.
England women’s match fees for cricket internationals were increased to match the men’s in August 2023, a key recommendation in the ICEC report.