Yorkshire County Cricket Club charged by the England and Wales Cricket Board in June in relation to allegations of racial harassment and bullying made by former player Azeem Rafiq; hearing due to take place between March 1-9, with details set to be finalised in mid-January
Thursday 12 January 2023 13:14, UK
A hearing to examine allegations of racism linked to Yorkshire is set to take place in early March, the PA news agency understands.
The Headingley county were charged by the England and Wales Cricket Board last June in relation to allegations of racial harassment and bullying made by former player Azeem Rafiq, and their subsequent handling of those allegations.
The hearing, scheduled to take place between March 1-9, is due to be held in public, after an appeal asking for it to take place in private was dismissed before Christmas.
It is understood a directions hearing next week will finalise details on the location of the hearing and how its deliberations will be made public.
An ECB spokesperson said: "An independent Appeal Panel convened by the Cricket Discipline Commission has dismissed appeals brought by certain defendants against the Disciplinary Panel's public hearing decision and therefore the hearing will take place in public. Further details, including dates, will be announced in due course."
A number of individuals were also charged at the same time as Yorkshire but only one of those involved - the club's former head coach and captain Andrew Gale - has named himself.
Gale issued a statement in July denying the allegations against him and saying he would not engage with a "tainted" disciplinary process.
Gale, director of cricket Martyn Moxon and all members of the coaching staff were among 16 people to leave Yorkshire in December 2021, after Lord Patel was appointed as chair.
Former England and Yorkshire pace bowler Darren Gough has since been permanently appointed managing director of cricket, with ex-West Indies seamer Ottis Gibson becoming head coach and Stephen Vaughan chief executive officer.
Yorkshire were suspended from hosting international and major matches by the ECB over their handling of Rafiq's allegations but that ban was lifted after a "rigorous review" of whether the club had made progress.
Headingley subsequently hosted England's third Test against New Zealand in June 2022 and the one-day international versus South Africa a month later.
Lord Patel led Yorkshire through a significant period of change after replacing Roger Hutton as chair in November 2021 but recently announced that he will step down in March at the club's annual general meeting.
The Daily Mail is reporting that former chair Colin Graves could replace Lord Patel but Yorkshire would not be drawn on that.
A spokesperson said: "Lord Patel will step down as chair of Yorkshire County Cricket Club at the next AGM. A new chair will be appointed following a thorough, fair and robust recruitment process, to ensure that the right individual is in place and continue the significant progress which the club has made in his tenure."
