Racism in cricket: Majid Haq & Qasim Sheikh want more to be done in Scotland

Majid Haq won 209 caps for Scotland from 2002-15

Record wicket-taker Majid Haq has called for an inquiry into racism in Scottish cricket as both he and former team-mate Qasim Sheikh revealed they had suffered abuse in their careers.

Haq, 38, represented Scotland on more than 200 occasions but did not play again after being sent home from the 2015 World Cup. At the time, he hinted he felt victimised on grounds of race.

"As an ethnic minority cricketer, you need to perform twice as well as a white counterpart to get the same opportunities," he told BBC Scotland.

"Considering how many Asians play, is there enough representation in the national team? In the age groups it's pretty good but once you get to the higher level they seem to drop away.

"I think Cricket Scotland is trying to do something but there's still a lot to be done. We need an investigation.

"How many ethnic minorities are on the board at Cricket Scotland? How many are on the coaching staff? How many are at the top level umpiring?"

Former Yorkshire player Azeem Rafiq told a parliament select committee on Tuesday that English cricket is "institutionally" racist and another former Scotland international, Sheikh, shares some of those concerns.

"As someone who has played a lot of cricket in England and all over the world, I can certainly relate to a lot of what has been said by Azeem Rafiq," he told BBC Scotland. "It's just unfortunate it's taken until 2021 for these issues to be aired.

"The biggest issue for me is acceptance and that these things are seen as banter. The perpetrators of discrimination often don't realise the affect it can have on a person.

"In the last week or so people have reached out to me and highlighted that they have reported racism through club cricket in Scotland and have often found that it has fallen on deaf ears."

Qasim Sheikh batting for Scotland at Lords in 2008

Sheikh, 37, said he was racially abused while playing at the age of 15 but that his team-mates backed him up. He also insisted "the majority" of people he played with were very inclusive.

However, he did disclose that there were incidences where he felt uncomfortable.

"In relation to the Scotland changing room, it takes me back to around 2010 when myself and a few other fellow team-mates who came from an Asian background were, on quite a few occasions, referred to as 'you lot'," he said.

"I look back at that now and it doesn't sit very comfortably with me. I wouldn't want my children referred to that way. I'm born and bred in Glasgow. I have a Scottish mother, a Pakistani father and I'm proud to be a Scottish Pakistani.

"Beyond that, there was never any other racial slurs. It needs to get better but I do not by any stretch compare that state of affairs at Cricket Scotland with what has happened at Yorkshire. It's quite a big difference."

Cricket Scotland told the BBC they would not discuss individual cases but those would be part of the Equality Action Plan they launched this week.

As part of that, they will set up a private hotline to encourage people to report any incidences of racism.

Cricket Scotland President Sue Strachan told Good Morning Scotland "we need to find out what the problems are. Until we hear about people's experiences then we don't know what's happening out there".