Colin Graves has apologised “personally and unreservedly” to those who experienced racism at Yorkshire after the club’s board approved a loan offer that paves the way for his controversial return as chair.
But Azeem Rafiq, the former spinner turned whistleblower whose revelations lie at the heart of the scandal that has engulfed the club in recent years, has already rejected Graves’ attempts to say sorry.
Rafiq believes the acceptance of Graves’ proposals, described by Yorkshire as the only viable offer left to tackle a crippling financial situation that involves debts of almost £15million to the Graves family trust, shows the game has failed to tackle its discrimination problem.
Graves is set to resume the role he left in 2015, when he became chair of the England and Wales Cricket Board, when Yorkshire members vote at an extraordinary general meeting scheduled for February 2.
The 75-year-old has offered an initial £1million, with another £4m of backing promised over a five-month period, provided members ratify him as chair and agree to bring allies Phillip Hodson, Sanjay Patel and Sanjeev Gandhi on to a much-changed board.
Those currently in charge of the club have recommended the deal but it is a divisive move considering the racism scandal partially took place during Graves’ first stint in charge.
Graves has attempted to row back from his previous bullish approach, apologising fully to those who suffered racism and adding that he “profoundly regrets” comments last summer that appeared to explain away the issue as “banter”.
Rafiq, for one, says that is not enough.
“It’s not something I accept. It’s got to be further than just words,” he told the PA news agency.
“We’ve seen a lot of grand apologies and I’ve believed them – not any more. Be careful what you wish for is what I say, not just to Yorkshire members, but to cricket.
“This is a clear message to me, to other people that have been abused, to south Asians, to people of colour, that cricket is not a place for you. Actions speak louder than words and at the first point of challenge the game has shown exactly what it is, which is institutionally, systemically, racist.
“It’s not my club (anymore). Even after everything that’s happened – driven out of the country, attacked, abused, still I was like ‘I have got pride in this (county) cap’. I no longer do and I am contemplating what to do with it.”
Graves’ statement, which accompanied news that his emergency funding offer had been accepted at board level, read: “I apologise personally and unreservedly to anyone who experienced any form of racism at Yorkshire County Cricket Club.
“Discrimination or abuse based on race, ethnicity or any other protected characteristic is not and never will be acceptable. I profoundly regret some of the language I used when asked about the events that took place when I was chairman, at a time when I was no longer at the club. I understand and sympathise with those who regarded my comments as dismissive or uncaring.
“I am determined to do whatever is required to ensure Yorkshire County Cricket Club continues to reflect the communities it represents.”
Graves went on to make it clear he and his backers accepted the findings of the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC) and would uphold its recommendations.
The ECB, which recently stepped in to provide Yorkshire with financial support in the form of cash advances, welcomed Graves’ apology but warned it would keep a close eye on the club’s conduct.
“Considerable work has been carried out at Yorkshire – and across cricket more widely – in recent years to tackle discrimination and make the game more inclusive, and it is vital this continues,” read a statement from the governing body.
“We welcome Colin Graves’ commitment to continue this work, his unreserved apology and acceptance of the findings of the ICEC. These words must be put into action if Yorkshire members approve this deal.
“In addition, the ECB continues to exercise its ongoing role of ensuring effective oversight of governance across the wider game. There are also significant powers which can be used to hold Yorkshire County Cricket Club to account if it does not continue with the progress and reform we have seen over the last few years.”
The threat of suspending Headingley’s right to host international cricket was previously imposed in 2021 and lifted the following year following sweeping changes by previous chair Lord Kamlesh Patel.
Graves has been invited to appear in front of the Culture, Media and Sport (CMS) select committee, with chair, Caroline Dinenage MP, warning her group would be “watching closely” amid concerns that his comeback “risks undermining what progress has been made so far”.
One of Graves closest allies, and another former Yorkshire chair, Robin Smith offered a more optimistic take.
He told PA: “The proposal from Colin Graves is the only one on the table. Fortunately, it happens to be a rather good one.
“The proposal comes from people of proven integrity and experience, notably Colin Graves himself, who, for the second time, has been willing to come to Yorkshire’s aid in its hour of desperate need.”
Record-breaking Root edges England closer to Sri Lanka victory
Joe Root hit a record-breaking century as England edged closer to sealing their series victory over Sri Lanka at Lord's.
Root, who equalled Alastair Cook's record during the first innings of the second Test, made 103 from 111 balls for his 34th Test ton.
England resumed on 25-1 at the start of day three, with Root leading the way for the hosts and the crowd rose as one when a sweeping four completed his landmark century.
He helped his nation set their opponents a target of 483 after they were 251 all out.
As the light faded over Lord's, so too did Sri Lanka's momentum in their record-attempting chase, with Gus Atkinson and Olly Stone claiming Nishan Madushka and Pathum Nissanka respectively.
Play was eventually halted due to bad light, and called off to be resumed on Sunday with the tourists at 53-2 with Dimuth Karunaratne (23) and Prabath Jayasuriya (three) at the crease.
Data Debrief: Root revels on record-breaking day
Day three of the second Test belonged to Root, whose century was also his quickest in Test cricket.
Adding to his 143 in England's first innings, he registered two tons in a match for the first time, while becoming only the fourth player to achieve that feat in a Test at Lord's.
Root also joins Brian Lara and Sachin Tendulkar in scoring 5,000 Test runs in two different decades, while closing the gap on Cook's all-time England tally (12,472) to just 95.
If that was not enough for him, he also took the catches for both of Sri Lanka's wickets, making him the first England player to reach 200 in Test cricket.
Last Hurrah: Dwayne Bravo to call time on CPL career after this year's edition
Former West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo says this year’s edition of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) will be his last hurrah as he announced his retirement from the tournament on Saturday.
Bravo, who represents the Trinbago Knight Riders, made the revelation on his Instagram account hours ahead of the franchise’s opening contest against St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in Basseterre, scheduled for 7:00pm.
“It's been a great journey, and I'm looking forward to playing my final professional tournament in front of my Caribbean people," Bravo said in his post.
“TKR is the place where everything started for me and will end with my team,” he added.
The 40-year-old’s post all but indicates the end of a decorated professional career, as he retired from international cricket in 2021 after the T20 World Cup and also announced his retirement from the Indian Premier League (IPL) a year later after being part of four title-winning Chennai Super Kings campaigns.
Bravo, known for his flair and skillful batting and bowling, is currently the CPL’s highest wicket-taker with 128 scalps in 103 games at an average of 22.40 and economy rate of 8.69.
In fact, Bravo is the leading wicket-taker in all T20s, with 630 scalps in 578 matches. He has also scored 6,970 runs with the bat.
No doubt the electrifying Trinidad and Tobago stalwart will go down as one of T20's early legends, having played seven World Cups in the format, winning two titles, as well as over 15 franchise league titles. He is the first bowler to get to 500 T20 wickets.
CWI targets domestic T20 competition in 2025 to identify Caribbean representative(s) for 2028 Olympic Games
Cricket West Indies (CWI) president Dr. Kishore Shallow says plans are already afoot to host a domestic T20 competition next year to determine the Caribbean representative(s) for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
Shallow, once again welcoming cricket’s return to the Olympic Games, pointed out that his administration is already in dialogue with the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) hierarchy to stage the domestic competition in 2025.
Cricket, which last featured at an Olympic Games in 1900, was always set for a long-awaited return to the global multi-sport showpiece, and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) last year confirmed it and four other sports—baseball/softball, flag football, lacrosse, and squash—for the LA Games.
“To add cricket to the agenda in the next Olympics is certainly going to be something tremendous, as we did in the Commonwealth Games a couple years ago when we had one of our teams representing the females. We at the time chose our original women’s tournament, and the winner at the time was Barbados, so they represented the region,” Shallow said.
“We anticipate something similar will be done unless they tell us all the teams can come and participate, which would be ideal, but it is unlikely for that to happen,” he added.
Shallow also explained that the CPL champions cannot represent the region at the Olympic Games given that the tournament is franchise-based and involves players from other parts of the world.
As such, he revealed that he has engaged CARICOM leaders regarding plans for a domestic T20 competition from which the winner or top finishers would secure the coveted Olympic Games spot(s).
“We have been in discussion with CPL for them to fund a domestic T20 tournament starting next year. I think Miles Bascombe and his team have already scheduled a window for that next year in 2025. Once we are able to have that tournament, then we can use that to determine which team or teams will participate in the Olympics on behalf of CWI,” Shallow shared.
“We can’t use the CPL as it is now because it’s franchises. But in the domestic tournament that we’re having, which will still have a commercial model to it but not to the extent of CPL, but that will more than likely be territories instead of franchises, so we will be able to identify teams,” he noted.
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