Grant Bradburn has been reprimanded and handed a suspended £500 fine by the Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC) after admitting to discriminatory conduct that had racist and sexist connotations during his time as head coach of Glamorgan.
Bradburn, 58, was sacked by Glamorgan in December, having been referred to The Cricket Regulator – the body responsible for monitoring compliance and enforcing adherence with the game’s regulations – for allegations of inappropriate behaviour. The county terminated Bradburn’s employment less than 12 months into a three-year deal following their own internal investigation. Richard Dawson was subsequently appointed as interim head coach in January.
In a statement released on Thursday, The Regulator revealed their investigations – which included witness statements from several players and Bradburn’s own interview with The Regulator – had found evidence to uphold three specific allegations that comprised the charge.
It was alleged that on a number of occasions, including in the changing room at Sophia Gardens during pre-season of 2024, Bradburn asked players of Asian background what their “real age” is, responding to their answer by saying “is that your Cricinfo age”, “Cricinfo” or similar. The suggestion was Asian players lie about their age.
In a pre-season team meeting, Bradburn suggested selection decisions in Pakistan were made by picking their friends and cousins or names out of a hat. Bradburn had previously held a number of roles with Pakistan, including a six-month stint as head coach.
Bradburn was also alleged to have used the phrase “this isn’t Western Storm” (the now defunct women’s domestic side based in the South West of England and Wales who were often based in Cardiff) or similar during fielding practice sessions, suggesting the male players were “throwing like girls” when he thought they were demonstrating a lack of intensity in drills.
The Regulator also found the “Western Storm” comment started as a private joke with another coach and acknowledged it had been picked up and used by the players. In the context of the ECB’s objective to make cricket the most inclusive sport in the country, this was determined as an aggravating factor considering Bradburn’s influence on the team culture in his role as head coach. Such comments were not made when in the company of Western Storm players or coaches.
Bradburn admitted the charge of bringing the game into disrepute – a breach of Regulation 3.3 of the Professional Conduct Regulations 2024 – with The Regulator accepting he did not intend to cause offence with his words.
CDC adjudicator Tim O’Gorman issued Bradburn with a reprimand, a caution as to his future conduct, a requirement to attend an appropriate course on discrimination and EDI – with either the Professional Cricketers Association or the New Zealand Players Association – and a suspended fine of £500.
The punishment handed down reflects the fact Bradburn never denied making the offending statements and co-operated fully with the investigation, and unreservedly apologised for any offence taken. The scale of the fine also reflects the fact Bradbun had already paid a significant price for his actions having lost his coaching role with Glamorgan.
Director of The Cricket Regulator Chris Haward said: “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.
“The Regulator fully endorses the CDC’s observation that the culture in any organisation is heavily influenced by those who lead that organisation and so it is especially incumbent on all senior leaders to set the right tone. In this instance, Grant Bradburn failed to meet expectations.
“The Regulator would like to thank Glamorgan for their assistance in this matter and praise the openness and courage of those who reported this misconduct.
“Removing discrimination from the game is a priority for the Cricket Regulator. We recognise that it takes a lot of courage for those impacted to come forward. We are committed to investigating thoroughly and expeditiously when allegations are raised with us, whether current or in the past.”
In a statement released by Glamorgan, chief executive officer Dan Cherry commented: “Glamorgan Cricket acknowledges and welcomes this decision by the Cricket Discipline Committee.
“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.
“We’re confident that the systems and processes we have in place to identify poor behaviour are working by virtue of the fact that those affected felt able to come forward on these points.”
Bradburn had overseen Glamorgan’s success in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup during his sole season in charge. The county also finished sixth in both Division Two of the County Championship and the T20 Blast South Group.
