The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has affirmed that it will address racism in cricket.

Media reports said that the Chairman of the ECB in his recent statement said that the sport is not immune to systemic racism.

He added that ECB will address the racism issue and try to bring “meaningful and long-term change” to the game.

Athletes across a range of sports have spoken out about racism after the death of George Floyd, an African American who died on May 25 after a white policeman knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes in Minneapolis.

ECB said in a statement said “We have listened carefully to those who have spoken out in recent weeks about their experiences of being black in cricket, sport, and society,”

“We admire them for being vocal on this crucial topic.

However the ECB said they had made progress in bringing the game to more people and that they would “break down barriers and reform our structures”.

“We will now work to engage community leaders and black influencers within cricket so that we can review and evolve our existing inclusion and diversity work and specifically address the issues raised by the black community,” it added.

Furthermore the board said “From there, it is our overall desire to create demonstrable action, in order to deliver meaningful and long-term change that permeates every layer of the game.”