Former Yorkshire High Performance coach and former England physical disability coach, Ben Silver, has been fined by the Cricket Discipline Panel after admitting two charges concerning his conduct towards female colleagues.
The charges against Silver relate to his time working with Yorkshire between August and October last year.
The first charge involved an inappropriate sexual advance towards a female colleague. According to the full judgment, Silver sent messages in October 2024 to a female colleague who was “junior in age and position” after an evening out that included drinking alcohol. In these messages, Silver suggested a “sleepover” with the colleague, which the panel determined “appeared to constitute a sexual advance.” The recipient told the panel the messages made her feel “weird.” Silver admitted to sending the messages, describing them as an error of judgment and asserting that they were meant as a “joke.”
The second charge concerns an incident from August 2024 at the Scarborough Cricket Festival. The judgment states that Silver took part in an offensive and improper “game” relating to female colleagues’ appearances. During the event, Silver was heard saying “go on, how many” by a junior female member of staff at Yorkshire County Cricket Club (CCC).
Silver told the Cricket Regulator that he had played a “game” with another male where they discussed “how many drinks it would take for them to kiss each of the regional coaches.” He asserted that this “game” was conducted in his hotel room and did not mention any female member of staff at Yorkshire CCC.
Yorkshire CCC conducted formal disciplinary proceedings against Silver earlier this year. As a result, his employment was terminated with four weeks’ full pay in lieu of notice.
Following the disciplinary process, the Cricket Discipline Panel issued Silver with a suspended fine of £500. He was also required to complete a course addressing professional boundaries in the workplace.
In delivering his decision, Richard Whittam KC stated: “The conduct admitted by the Respondent has no place in modern society and no place in the cricket environment. Women who participate in cricket in any way must be able to do so in a safe and inclusive environment.”
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