Jahid Ahmed is the now third former Essex County cricketer to allege that he suffered racist abuse whilst playing for the club.
The former fast bowler follows ex-players Maurice Chambers and Zoheb Sharif, who also stated that they experienced racial abuse whilst they were at the club.
Jahid Ahmed spent a total of six years at Essex, representing the under-17 team from 2003 before making his professional debut in 2005. He played seven first class matches for Essex during his time at the club.
“A White Man’s World”
Ahmed, in an interview with The Cricketer, stated that he suffered racism both from fellow players as well as the staff at Essex. He stated that he used to ‘dread’ going to work and that he concluded that Essex cricket was “a white man’s world where brown people were outsiders.”
In the statement he also went on to say that ‘the environment at Essex showed no respect for his Muslim faith’, making jokes about his voice as well as terrorism. Ahmed mentioned that there was ignorance regarding his Muslim faith. An example that he gave was that there was a team meeting in the pub during Ramadan: “I was fasting and I really didn’t want to go. But they insisted.”
Essex Chief Exec ‘Disheartened’ By Allegations
In a statement, John Stephenson, Chief Executive of Essex County Cricket Club, said that he was ‘disheartened’ to hear of these allegations; “the allegations make difficult reading and they will be treated and investigated with the utmost seriousness.” He went on to say that he had offered Ahmed his full support and he hoped that the former Essex player would feel comfortable to be part of the ongoing investigation.
