Goughy
Hall of Fame Member
Call me goofy but a while ago I contacted the government about this and asked about discrimination legislation against British citizens.1 Subject to the overriding discretion of the ECB, acting with the consent of the International Cricket Council, a Cricketer will only be qualified to play for England in a Test Match or in a One Day International Match if:
(a) he is either a British citizen or an Irish citizen; and either
(i) he was born within England and Wales;
(ii) he has been resident in England and Wales for the immediately preceding four consecutive years;
and
(b) he has not during the immediately preceding four consecutive years either
(i) played cricket for any Full Member Country except England at under 17 level or above,
(ii) played First Class Cricket in any Full Member Country outside England and Wales, except as an overseas cricketer under local rules similar to Regulation 3 above or in any other circumtances approved by the ECB
and
(c) he makes, whenever requested by the ECB, a declaration in the form set out in the Annex to this
Regulation;
and
(d) he is also qualified for England pursuant to theprovisions laid down from time to time by ICC
IIRC, the question I asked was if there was legislation to prevent discrimination against British citizens based on their place of birth. (ie can an Aus born Brit be discriminated against on the basis of being born in Aus or does legislation give them the exact same protections and rights as a British born Brit)
This is their reply. Make of it what you will
So the way I read it is that it is illegal to discriminate against a British citizen born elsewhere unless the selection rules pre-date the legislation. I find that pretty interesting.Government Equalities Office said:"The Equality Bill replicates the Race Relation Act 1976. Part 6 of the Act states that you cannot discriminate against another on the basis of that person's nationality or place of birth or the length of time for which he has been resident in a particular area or place, if the act is done:
(a)in selecting one or more persons to represent a country, place or area, or any related association, in any sport or game; or
(b) in pursuance of the rules of any competition so far as they relate to eligibility to compete in any sport or game.
Clause 188 of the Equality Bill allows the existing selection arrangements of national sports teams, regional and local clubs or related associations to continue. It also protects "closed" competitions where participation is limited to people who meet a requirement relating to nationality, place of birth or residence."
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