Jailed Durham cricket coach admits sexually abusing boy

Michael Strange had been a coach for Durham County Cricket Club at the time

A former cricket club coach already serving prison time for abusing young players has admitted sexually assaulting a 14-year-old boy.

Michael Strange, 63, who worked as a junior coach for Durham County Cricket Club, appeared by a videolink at Sunderland Magistrates' Court.

He was charged on 17 July with one count of indecent assault dating back to the late-1990s.

Strange is due to be sentenced at Newcastle Crown Court on 7 September.

Strange has now admitted, or been convicted of, abusing young players on five separate occasions when he was coaching at two clubs in the North East, and was most recently sentenced in January 2022.

It was understood that Strange's current jail sentence was coming to an end soon, but he was due to still be in prison by the sentencing in September.

'Spoken to ECB'

Northumbria Police said it had been in contact with cricket authorities over Strange's offending.

A force spokesperson said: "We can confirm we have spoken with the English and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and shared appropriate information.

"In doing so, we protected the right that all complainants and victims of sexual offences have to life-long anonymity, meaning they should not be named or identified in any way."

Another victim who was also abused by Strange when he was also 14 last year called on the ECB to hold an inquiry into the abuse.

At that time the ECB said it was "deeply disturbed" by the abuse suffered and "everyone should feel safe while playing cricket and safeguarding is a priority".