We were one of the first cricket clubs in the country to be awarded Clubmark accreditation, and this year marks 20 years of Clubmark accreditation at St Chad’s Broomfield Cricket Club. This is a fantastic achievement for all involved, as it shows that we have maintained the very highest standards expected by both Sport England and the England & Wales Cricket Board for a long period of time, not just an odd year or two, here and there.

ECB Clubmark is an accreditation scheme for cricket clubs which shows that a club is sustainable, well run and provides the right environment for its members. Clubmark accreditation also means a club is recognised as a safe, rewarding and fulfilling place for participants of all ages, as well as assuring parents and carers that they are choosing the right option for their young people.

In 2021 the ECB introduced the Safe Hands Management System which helps clubs with understanding and meeting their safeguarding responsibilities. This system is a key part of obtaining ECB Clubmark accreditation, but in addition, the ECB also reviews a club's development plans for the future, together with key governance documents as required under the UK Sport’s Code for Sports Governance.

Our Safe Hands Management System is up to date, as are all our governance documents, and we published our new Development Plan and Club Constitution last season, which are essential for us to maintain our very high standards.

In their recent email to us, the ECB said, "Congratulations to all those involved at your club for this achievement and for all that they do to promote cricket locally. Having a network of safe, family-friendly and well-organised clubs is vital for the future of the game and achieving Clubmark status shows that you and your volunteers are at the forefront of this".

The report by the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket that was published earlier this week highlighted discrimination in cricket and unfortunately, we have witnessed this at first hand.

In 2003 some of our players received racist abuse during a game from opposition players and spectators (this made the national press), in 2019 a player received homophobic abuse from opposition players during a game and in 2020 a female player was subject to sexual harassment from opposition players and spectators during a game. All are unacceptable, and all were reported by our club and action was taken by the clubs and/or leagues concerned. Although these were isolated incidents over many years and took place in a very small percentage of our many games, there is still absolutely no place for discrimination in cricket, and this is why we adopted and implemented the ECB Anti-Discrimination Code of Conduct.

Many clubs, leagues and organisations will report what they’ve done recently to address these issues (which is a move in the right direction), whereas we feel, as a Clubmark club with very high standards, that we’ve always done this. For example, we’ve had links with local schools going back to the 1980s who have a high percentage of pupils from deprived areas as well as pupils from South Asian ethnic groups. It’s great to see so many of them still involved in cricket.

We have one of the most diverse memberships in the area, with roughly 40% of our senior and junior players from ethnic backgrounds and roughly 20% are women and girls. We were one of the first clubs in the county to have cricket for both women and girls, and all this was before it was promoted as much as it is now. We also have women holding three of the main positions in the Club, namely President, Secretary and Treasurer as well as a female captain in two of our mixed teams and several female coaches.

All of this doesn’t mean that we will rest on our laurels, and we will continue to work, day in day out, to make our club one of the most welcoming in the country, one that is open to everyone. As our Club Constitution states, ‘Membership of the Club shall be open to anyone interested in the sport on application regardless of sex, age, disability, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, religion or other beliefs’. We also accept players of any ability, unlike many clubs.

These are not just meaningless words to tick boxes. These are the principles every member at our club abides by and values with the upmost importance.