A RENFREWSHIRE cricketer has told how the sport’s governing body showed him “no compassion” after he became so distressed that he experienced suicidal thoughts.

Majid Haq spoke out after an independent report into Cricket Scotland revealed hundreds of examples of institutional racism.

The former Scotland international, from Paisley, outlined his own experiences of racism within the sport.

Mr Haq, 39, is the nation’s leading wicket-taker and played more than 200 internationals but is not in Scotland’s hall of fame.

He saw his international career end after posting a social media message giving his opinion that race was a factor in selection when he was dropped at the 2015 World Cup.

Mr Haq had tweeted that it was “always tougher when you’re in the minority.”

He was sent home and suspended for three months.

Mr Haq claims he was denied support for mental health problems, despite feeling suicidal.

“I was made to say sorry and go public saying sorry when I didn’t commit a crime or anything,” he added.

Mr Haq also said that, because of his race, he had to “play twice as well as a white player to stand a chance.”

Consultancy firm Plan4Sport was commissioned to produce the report by sportscotland, the national agency for sport, in December after Mr Haq and another former Scotland player, Qasim Sheikh, made claims of racism.

After almost 1,000 people engaged with the review, the conclusions were damning.

Allegations made against Cricket Scotland include racial abuse, use of inappropriate language, favouritism towards white children from public schools and a lack of a transparent selection process.

The entire board of Cricket Scotland resigned on Sunday, just hours before the report’s findings were released.

Cricket Scotland interim chief executive Gordon Arthur, who started in his role earlier this month, issued a “heartfelt apology” to the victims of racism and other discrimination.

He said: “It’s clear that significant cultural change must happen and it must happen quickly.

“The immediate priority must be to get the independent referral process agreed and implemented so the investigations into the referrals can start.”