Indian-origin cricketer found guilty of indecent exposure

An Indian-origin cricketer in the UK has been found guilty of indecently exposing himself to two women on a housing estate in the East Midlands region.

Shiv Thakor, an all-rounder with the Derbyshire County Cricket Club and a former England captain of the Under-19 team, was labelled as "Shifty Shiv" by one of the victims after he exposed himself through a "gap" in his jogging pants.

Southern Derbyshire Magistrates' Court was told this week that Thakor's actions had caused "distress" to the two women.

"I am satisfied that you did intentionally expose yourself and I find you guilty of both charges," District Judge Andrew Meachin said as he freed the 24-year-old on bail until a sentencing hearing on November 24.

Thakor had been arrested in July over two offences near Mackworth area of Derbyshire on June 12 and 19.

One of the victims described him as "very quiet" and "very well-mannered".

"I bent down to get some paper from the printer. I just put my head down and carried on with my work," she said during her witness statement and stressed that Thakor knew "exactly what he was doing".

"He had his back to me – I thought he was trying to get himself aroused. I thought in a minute he would go away," the second victim said.

Thakor, who had denied the allegations, told the court, "I have got a tendency, that is almost a running joke, that I tend to rearrange myself both at the front and back during games. I've never exposed myself, it's not something I would ever do".

Derbyshire County Cricket Club, which had suspended Thakor on full pay when he was arrested, said it would review the player's future with the club following the guilty verdict.

"The club expects the highest standards of behaviour from all its staff and is opposed to sexual harassment in any form. Following the conclusion of the legal proceedings, the club will now review the case," it said in a statement.

"In consultation with the player's representatives, the player remains suspended on full pay and suspended from all cricket activity by the England and Wales Cricket Board," it said.

Thakor began his cricket career at Leicestershire county and represented England from the Under-15 to Under 19 level before joining Derbyshire in 2015.

He was named captain of the England Under-19 team for their tour of South Africa in January 2013, but suffered a broken finger in the opening match and missed the rest of the tour.

Image: Shiv Thakor

Photograph: Shiv Thakor/Twitter