A man who was sexually assaulted by a former Durham cricket coach as a child has called for an independent inquiry into abuse within the sport and revealed he has received no support from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

David, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was repeatedly abused by former Durham junior coach and scout Michael Strange while he was playing for a local cricket club.

Strange, 62, has been convicted on four separate occasions over the last decade of sexually abusing young players he coached.

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In 2015 he pleaded guilty to indecently assaulting David and was sentenced early the following year.

In 2017 the ECB opted against an independent inquiry, with independent ECB directors conducting a review instead.

David said: “It is going to be worrying for people who have been involved to bring it all up again. I can quite confidently say there’s other people out there who’ve been a victim of Strange (who haven’t come forward yet).

“If there’s just one positive that comes out of anything that’s found out, if one more victim has the courage to come forward and go to the police and get another conviction, someone who’s been having mental health problems from thinking every single day about what’s happened to them and not being able to speak.”

David says he has never been contacted or offered support by Durham County Cricket Club, the Durham Cricket Board which is responsible for recreational cricket in the county, or the ECB.

“I can’t say I’ve been treated well or badly (by Durham or the ECB) because I haven’t been treated at all,” David told the PA news agency.

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“I don’t want to think they should come running to me, but it would have been good if they could have offered an olive branch, just asking if I’m all right, do I want to speak to them, make contact. But they haven’t. So, it’s one of those things.

David said Strange had started to take an increased interest in him when he was being bullied at the age of 14, sensing he was “vulnerable”.

Strange would telephone David to ask how he was, and to check he was alone. Strange began to offer him lifts alone, ask him questions about his sexual experience with girls and would show him pornography on a portable DVD player in his car.

David said the physical abuse happened on “multiple occasions”.

“I did once say I was going to tell people what he was doing to me. He told me that no one would believe me,” David said.

Strange pleaded guilty to four counts of indecent assault on a child and six of indecency with a child in David’s case and was sentenced to three years in prison.

David eventually came forward after reading about Strange’s first conviction in 2012 in the media. The same pattern was repeated in all the subsequent cases – survivors coming forward after reading media reports about the previous conviction.

Asked how helpful it would be, even now, for a high-profile individual connected to Durham like star player Ben Stokes or chairman Ian Botham to speak out, David said: “I think it would be massive, even if they came out now and say something, do some campaigning, some publicity.

“Because I believe this has happened at Durham, and no doubt at some point it’s happened at another county around the country. I don’t think it’s necessarily Durham that’s got to come out and do it, I think it’s got to be the England and Wales Cricket Board.

In response to ‘David’s’ accusation, an ECB spokesperson said: “We are deeply disturbed by the abuse ‘David’ suffered and the impact it has had on him since. No one should ever have to experience what he did.

“Following his arrest in 2005, the ECB imposed an interim suspension on Michael Strange from all cricket activity, and he was permanently disqualified from all cricket activity in April 2006.

“The ECB does not hold any information about the offences, which were dealt with by the police, for which Mr Strange was convicted post-2006 or of the identity of any victims.

“Everyone should feel safe while playing cricket and safeguarding is a priority for the ECB. The ECB has executive and board leads for safeguarding and a dedicated safeguarding team which supports the network of trained safeguarding roles at all counties and clubs.

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