Grant Bradburn was head coach of Scotland from 2014-2018. Now, curiously, he has been removed of his responsibilities as head coach at Glamorgan following an internal investigation. In January 2024, Bradburn was appointed head coach on a three-year contract. He replaced Matthew Maynard, the previous County Championship head coach, and Mark Alleyne, the limited-overs supremo. His tenure was abruptly ended in December after allegations of sexual misconduct came to light.
Judgment handed down by Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC) found Bradburn guilty of racially aggravated comments on two separate incidents. He was convicted for making comments of “sexist nature” on one specific day. The commission punished Bradburn by reprimanding him and issuing a warning about his future behavior. They ordered him to complete an educational course and a £500 fine, suspended. His past offense includes interrogating players of Asian descent about their “real age.” This seemed to suggest that he believed they were lying about their age.
"It was alleged that, on a number of occasions (including during the pre-season of 2024 in the changing room at Sophia Gardens) Mr Bradburn asked players of Asian background what their 'real age' is and responded to their answer by saying 'is that your CricInfo age' or 'CricInfo' or similar, implying that Asian players do not tell the truth about their age." – CDC
In reaching its finding, the investigation found that Bradburn repeatedly made offensive comments in team meetings. These comments alluded to the fact that cricket selection decisions in Pakistan were arbitrary or based on nepotism. During fielding practice sessions, Bradburn allegedly commented that male players were not fielding with the same aggression as female players. Even worse, this behavior promotes and legitimizes the use of discriminatory language.
"There is no place for discrimination in cricket and normalisation of discriminatory language through this kind of conduct is unacceptable. Where such instances are identified they will be investigated and those responsible will be held to account." – Director of the Cricket Regulator Chris Haward
Though clearly intent on creating a positive, inclusive, and supportive environment, Bradburn has admitted the inappropriateness of his language and has faced backlash. O’Gorman, the CDC adjudicator, noted Bradburn’s reflection and understanding of the allegations. He saw this as an essential first step to make things right.
"Mr Bradburn has stated that although he has always sought to create an environment which is inclusive and supportive, he reflected on the specific allegations, and quickly acknowledged that the language he used was not appropriate." – CDC adjudicator Tim O'Gorman
Glamorgan Cricket moved swiftly following the investigation’s initial findings coming to light. Their decision was designed to preserve the club’s values and safeguard all those impacted by Bradburn’s behavior.
"We have a zero-tolerance policy towards discriminatory behaviour so as soon as issues were pointed out to us we acted swiftly to protect those affected and show a strong line against poor behaviours that do not reflect the club's values." – Glamorgan chief executive Dan Cherry
Leave a Reply