August 1, 2024

Cricket Scotland Chief Exec: “I’m Determined to Find a Way Through This for Everyone”

Trudy Lindblade on Leading Scottish Cricket Amid Racism and Misogyny Crises

At Forthill cricket ground near Dundee, while Scotland secured victory over Namibia in a CWC League 2 ODI, Trudy Lindblade, an enthusiastic Australian, mingled with locals, cheering on Richie Berrington’s team. Her friendly demeanor gave no hint that she was tackling one of international cricket’s toughest challenges.

In August 2023, Lindblade led the world’s largest-ever cycling event in Glasgow as CEO of the inaugural UCI Cycling World Championships, managing world titles in 13 disciplines. Two months later, she became the CEO of Cricket Scotland, an organization reeling from a 2022 investigation that revealed institutional racism. The “Changing the Boundaries” report placed Cricket Scotland under government oversight by Sport Scotland. Shortly after replacing interim CEO Pete Fitzboyden in early 2024, Lindblade faced another crisis as Cricket Scotland’s internal McKinney Report exposed a culture of sexism and misogyny within the sport.

Navigating Challenges: Trudy Lindblade’s Leadership Amidst Cricket Scotland’s Turmoil

Over the past two and a half years, Cricket Scotland has seen a revolving door of board members, with Trudy Lindblade becoming the fifth CEO to take the helm. This raises an important question: why would a successful and experienced female administrator choose to join an organization deeply entangled in issues like racism and sexism while grappling to rebuild its tarnished reputation?

“I knew this role would be tough because I’d been watching and observing some of the media that was coming through while I was doing the Cycling World Championships,” Lindblade told thwicketinsider. “But when you’re in it, it’s much more complex and more difficult than you can possibly imagine. That said, I’m determined to find a way through this for everyone. I’ve delivered hard projects before, and worked in difficult environments before. This is certainly the most difficult environment I’ve worked within. But I can see the opportunity and it is worth it to get through to the other side. That’s the message that I want to send because I want people to work on that opportunity with me. I really believe it’s there if we get everybody pulling in the same direction.”

In the five months since Trudy Lindblade became CEO, she has faced additional sensitive and complex legal and personal challenges. While Scotland performed well at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, former Scotland seamer John Blain—previously implicated in racism investigations at Cricket Scotland and Yorkshire—claimed he was cleared of all charges based on a letter from former interim CEO Pete Fitzboyden in January. However, Cricket Scotland clarified that the letter only stated insufficient evidence to proceed. Blain later threatened legal action, alleging Lindblade had called him to confirm the letter’s contents early in her tenure.

Trudy Lindblade’s Leadership: Navigating Racism, Sexism, and Complex Challenges in Cricket Scotland

Lindblade admitted speaking with Blain but declined to discuss the details or any other cases under investigation. She emphasized that Cricket Scotland remains committed to ongoing dialogue and mediation for complainants and those accused. Complicating matters further, just before Scotland’s Cricket World Cup League 2 home games against Namibia and Oman, Hamza Tahir retired from international cricket, citing numerous racism-related grievances and threatening legal action.

While Blain’s case was part of the “Changing the Boundaries” review, which concluded during the Men’s T20 World Cup, Tahir’s complaints are currently being investigated through Cricket Scotland’s new policies and procedures, also announced in June.

“We’d like to have the conversations with Hamza directly,” Lindblade said. “And I understand it’s within his right to do what he wishes to do, but I would have liked it to have been through this investigation and then he could determine whether he wished to make a public statement after it’s concluded, as opposed to whilst we’re in the process.”

The cases of John Blain and Hamza Tahir highlight the delicate and complex challenges Trudy Lindblade faces as she leads Cricket Scotland. Her main task is to guide the sport’s future in Scotland while addressing the unresolved issues of recent and past controversies. Lindblade recognizes that there will be ongoing pain, anger, and dissatisfaction with the outcomes. Still, she remains hopeful that mediation will help resolve many of the cases from the “Changing the Boundaries” investigation. While most cases did not lead to further disciplinary action, Cricket Scotland has acknowledged the lessons learned and is committed to implementing them.

Lindblade draws on over 25 years of administrative experience, beginning with her work at Carlton Australian Football Club in Melbourne and later in public affairs and events at the Australian Cricket Board (ACB). She led the events department for the 2007 Men’s World Cup in the Caribbean and the first World T20 in South Africa before transitioning to cycling. Ironically, one of Lindblade’s first tasks as CEO was addressing the McKinney Report, which uncovered systemic sexism and misogyny. Although surprised by the report’s release, she was not shocked by its findings.

“As a female leader working in mainly male sports you observe lots of different things,” she said. “That’s why I probably wasn’t surprised. But I wouldn’t say that specifically about Cricket Scotland. We are just one part of a bigger society that has to consider these issues.

“I’m a fairly strong character. I just get on with things and move forward. I’ve been really fortunate to work for terrific leaders and male leaders that have given me incredible opportunities. However, outside of that, yes, there probably have been times where getting my career started was made particularly difficult because I was looking to get into a male dominated sport.

“There are a small number of female CEOs among the Associate Members and, through the support of ICC Europe, we have a female leadership group that gets together on a regular basis. I think that’s really terrific that there are more women starting to take on senior leadership roles within cricket federations. We’d like to see that replicated not just across Associate Members, but into Full Members and other areas. We can do it. We might sometimes have a more empathetic way, we might do things a bit differently, but that’s because we’re individuals. Doesn’t matter whether you’re male or female. We all have our own way in which we lead people.”

Cricket Scotland’s New Strategy: Rebuilding Trust and Prioritizing Equality

Six months into Trudy Lindblade’s tenure, Cricket Scotland is set to unveil a four-year strategy focused on rebuilding trust and effectiveness as a governing body. Unsurprisingly, given the controversies of the past two years, the strategy prioritizes promoting women and girls in cricket and advancing equality. This plan has been a year in the making, beginning under former interim CEO Pete Fitzboyden and refined under Lindblade’s leadership.

The strategy may be disappointing for those hoping to see Scotland pursue Full Membership and Test status. It emphasizes sustainable success in the field but acknowledges that the organization must address its internal challenges before considering such ambitions.

“We have a new board, we have new leadership, and we have been through two of the most difficult years a sporting organization can go through. When we’re ready and equipped, Full Membership should always be on our agenda. But we need to have all our building blocks in place so that if and when we do get to that point, we can do it and do it well. There’s a lot of things that have to happen before that though, both from a governance point of view but also on the field. We want to be playing more cricket, both men and women, against the best countries in the world.”

A home T20 International series against Australia in September marks a promising start for Scottish cricket. Alongside their strong showing at the Men’s T20 World Cup, Scotland also participated in this year’s Men’s Under-19s World Cup. It secured a spot in the upcoming Women’s T20 World Cup, indicating that talent development is deepening. Lindblade is optimistic that the progress made by Cricket Scotland could lead to lifting special measures imposed by Sport Scotland. However, no specific timeline has been set. However, much work remains before Scottish cricket can move forward from its troubled past.

“The strategy is not going to solve everything we’ve been through, and I don’t think anyone would expect that. But it does provide us a path forward and a focus, not just for Cricket Scotland, but for everyone within Scottish cricket. It’s going to take a long time because of the hurt, the unhappiness, for everyone who’s been impacted by what’s happened. But we need to move forward and have that self-awareness of what people are feeling and why and that’s really important.

“This is about uniting communities and people through cricket. It’s to make Scottish cricket better every day. It’s a really big moment for Scottish cricket and for Cricket Scotland. And it’s really exciting.”