Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he has taken to diversify participation in cricket and to promote the sport among underrepresented groups.

The Government is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion in sport and physical activity, including cricket. Our strategy ‘Sporting Future’ sets out a clear ambition to increase levels of physical activity amongst under-represented groups, working closely with national bodies to achieve this. Sport England’s recently launched new ten year strategy, “Uniting the Movement”, reinforces their commitment to increasing diversifying participation in grassroots sport and physical activity.

Sport England funding has directly contributed to a number of cricket participation projects with an equality, diversity and inclusion focus run by the English and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). This includes a recent £2 million investment into the South Asian Action Plan, focused on opening up access to cricket, and the development of a new disability strategy, delivered by the ECB.