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ricket Australia (CA) is now developing the next stage of its diversity and inclusion action plan.

Cricketers Usman Khawaja and Elyse Villani, along with Graeme Innes AM, former Australian Disability Discrimination commissioner and member of the blind community, among others, will assist development.

CA has formed several working groups which are comprised of external members and CA employees in the areas of: cultural diversity, diverse gender and sexuality, and disability.

The program will work with CA’s 2019 Stretch Reconciliation Action Plan to ensure that Cricket Australia has the most efficient plan possible with which to guide its decisions.

Former Paralympic gold medalist and accessibility consultant, Nick Morris OAM, member of the deaf community and former Olympic decathlete, Dean Barton-Smith AM, national program manager for Pride in Sport, Beau Newell, and Sri Lankan cricketing great Asanka Gurusinha, have also been enlisted into the working groups.

The initiative will become one of many implemented by Cricket Australia to facilitate greater diversity.

These include: The National Indigenous Cricket Championships, National Cricket Inclusion Championships and cricket’s guidelines for the inclusion of transgender and gender diverse people in cricket and Cricket Australia, alongside Commonwealth Bank as the Principal Partner of the A Sport For All Program.

Cricket Australia diversity and inclusion manager, Adam Cassidy, said: “we’re very excited about bringing people with a wealth of different professional and lived experience together to help us advance as an organisation.”

“We believe we have implemented some great programs at a participation level and have a reasonable base to be starting from, however we would be naive to think we have all the answers within our walls to be a truly inclusive sport.

“To have secured the calibre within these groups who can help guide the work of our wonderful staff at Cricket Australia is something we are thankful for.

“We hope they are just as excited as us to be on this journey of becoming an inclusive sport,” he said.

Pride in Sport national program manager, Beau Newell, said: “Pride in Sport is thrilled to be a part of this important project that Cricket Australia is launching.”

“We know from experience that most sports have an appetite to be inclusive but often need some outside guidance on what is best practice or where they have gaps when trying to create a safe and inclusive environment for particular communities.

“As a partner of Cricket Australia, Pride in Sport is looking forward to further strengthening that relationship and also learning from the many other wonderful people involved in the process,” he said.

Next month, working groups will commence work on creating a greater diversity and inclusion action plan for Cricket Australia.