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ECB accused of ‘hypocrisy’ after fans spot tiny detail on stumps during India vs England first Test
Several fans, including former Indian all-rounder Sanjay Bangar's daughter, slammed the ECB after spotting a tiny detail on the stumps
Several fans, including former Indian all-rounder Sanjay Bangar's daughter, slammed the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) after spotting a tiny detail on the stumps during the India vs England first Test at Headingly. Anaya Bangar, who aims to represent India as a trans woman, posted a video on social media, saying the ECB has installed stumps featuring pride colors. She added that this comes weeks after the English board announced that transgender women have been banned from competing in all levels of women's cricket.
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Other social media users slammed the ECB too. In a video posted on Instagram, Anaya Bangar asked: “What is this performative allyship that ECB has going on?”
“On Day 2 of the India vs England Test Match, there were Pride flags on the stumps while at the same time: The UK Supreme Court rolled back trans women’s rights from the Equality Act. 🚫 The ECB banned trans women from not just elite, but even professional cricket. So who is this inclusivity really for? You can’t celebrate Pride while erasing trans women from the sport. This is not inclusion. It’s performative allyship. And the hypocrisy is too loud to ignore,” Bangar added in the caption.
“Right in the middle of this India-England Test, the ECB has defiled stumps with those garish rainbow stripes and calls it “Rainbow Laces” for Pride Month,” another person pointed out on X, platform formerly known as Twitter.
Only last month, the ECB announced a change to its regulations regarding eligibility for transgender players in women’s and girls’ cricket following the recent Supreme Court ruling.
“With immediate effect, only those whose biological sex is female will be eligible to play in women’s cricket and girls’ cricket matches. Transgender women and girls can continue playing in open and mixed cricket,” it stated in its press release.
The board further added that it has aimed at ‘ensuring that cricket remains as inclusive a sport as possible’.
“We will work with Recreational Cricket Boards to support people impacted by this change in our regulations.”
