A Bristol cricketer says an umpire at a county cricket match once suggested she “stay at home to do the ironing”. Charlotte Dukes has now called the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC) report “shocking, but not surprising”.
The finance worker said she felt “let down” by cricket and “broke down into tears” when she was 13 – playing for Gloucestershire County Cricket Club – following the umpire’s alleged comment, and said it was an experience that had “stuck” with her into adulthood. “I play (cricket) – not at the same level – but I’ve not joined a club since,” the 26-year-old told the PA news agency.
Ms Dukes has played sport all her life but said the incident was “a pinnacle moment” that made her question why someone with “embedded prejudices” could officiate the game. She said: “I was really upset and disappointed. I felt let down by the institution of cricket, which I absolutely loved as a sport.”
