Colin Graves has written to Yorkshire members urging them to back the “bumpy ride” that would come with his proposed return or face the prospect of insolvency.
An extraordinary general meeting will take place at Headingley on February 2 to vote through changes that would see Graves reinstated as chair of the debt-stricken club with associates Phillip Hodson, Sanjeev Gandhi and Sanjay Patel joining the board.
The existing board has already recommended Graves’ loan offer and proposals, which require a two-thirds majority among the membership to go ahead.
Spinner turned whistleblower Azeem Rafiq, whose experiences of racism partly occurred during Graves’ previous reign between 2012-2015, has strongly criticised any comeback for Graves, while the parliamentary culture, media and sport committee has said it will be “watching closely” and has invited the 76-year-old to appear in front of it.
With nearly £15m in debts to the Graves family trust and a fresh £1m cash injection instantly repayable should the changes not win approval, the immediate financial situation is a stark one.
Graves’ letter puts it in clear terms to members, stating: “If the deal does not receive the requisite support of members the consequences are far-reaching. This may result in administration or an insolvency event.”
He later adds of his own rescue plans: “Make no mistake, this is not going to be easy. It will be a bumpy ride and there is a great deal to do. We can do this together with hard work, transparency, trust and enthusiasm from committed people.
“I therefore ask you to give me your support on the ballot paper as I have outlined my manifesto to you to make YCCC great again.”
Graves directly addressed concerns over Yorkshire’s future as a member-owned club, with other potential investors having sought an outright takeover. He said that was not part of his immediate vision for the White Rose but made no long-term promises.
“I want to make it clear that there are no discussions or plans to change the mutual status of YCCC. However in the changing and challenging arena of both UK and World sport, nothing can be ruled out in the future,” he wrote.
“At all times we will ensure that the rights of all YCCC members to watch all professional cricket in Yorkshire will be maintained.”
Reiterating last week’s apology for any discrimination that took place during his prior tenure, he again attempted to appease those who fear his return would represent a backwards step.
“It is my personal pledge to you and to the entire Yorkshire public that, regardless of background, community or ethnicity, all will be welcome in the fully inclusive culture and environment of Yorkshire County Cricket Club,” he said.
“There will be no exceptions. I have unreservedly apologised for any and all mistakes either I or the club has made over the painful and difficult years of the recent past. Lessons have been learned and will continue to be acted on as we move forward and focus on the future of our great club.”
IPL: Yadav century ends Mumbai's losing streak in style
Suryakumar Yadav scored an unbeaten century to lead Mumbai Indians to a seven-wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League on Monday.
Yadav hit a sensational 102 not out off 51 balls with six maximums as Mumbai successfully chased a target of 174 with 16 balls to spare, lifting them off the foot of the table.
Despite a slow start to the Indians' innings in which SRH took three wickets in the first five overs, Yadav’s introduction turned things around as he put on a partnership of 143 with Tilak Varma (37 not-out).
Sunrisers had started well, with Travis Head reeling off a quick 48, but Piyush Chawla (3-33) and Hardik Pandya (3-31) limited Hyderabad to 173-8, with Anshul Kamboj claiming his maiden IPL wicket by bowling out Mayank Agarwal.
Pat Cummins finished with a flurry, knocking 35 runs from 17 balls, and the Australia captain helped SRH put the Indians on the ropes when he dismissed Rohit Sharma in the fourth over.
Yet Mumbai would lose only one more wicket as Yadav inspired them to victory that snapped a four-match losing run.
Data Debrief: Yadav star of the show
This was Yadav's first IPL hundred of the season, with his knock including 18 boundaries (12 fours, six sixes), taking him up to 334 runs so far this campaign.
He is 16th in the overall rankings, and some 108 runs behind leader Virat Kohli.
Matthews among nominees for ICC Women’s Player of the Month award for April
West Indies Women’s Captain Hayley Matthews has been named among three nominees for the ICC Women’s Player of the Month for April.
A past winner of the award and current holder of the ICC Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Year, Matthews is another top-ranked performer to have grabbed headlines in April.
The 26-year-old skipper piled on the runs in her six outings for the West Indies, notching two brilliant ODI centuries followed by back-to-back half-centuries in the T20I contests against Pakistan.
Alongside her 451 runs in April, Matthews also flourished with the ball, taking 12 wickets; six in the ODI matches at an average of 14, and six more in the T20Is at 10.50.
Matthews’ competition for the award are South Africa’s Laura Wolvaardt and Sri Lanka’s Chamari Athapaththu.
The South African opener is looking to claim her maiden Player of the Month award in what is her fourth nomination, and is a strong contender after another historic series of displays in April.
Wolvaardt started the month with a half-century in the final T20I contest against Sri Lanka before carrying her excellent form into the ODI series.
Her innings of 41 in the first match preceded an emphatic 110 not out in the second to claim a vital win, but the 25-year-old saved her best score for the last game, blasting a national record score of 184 in 147 balls only for South Africa to be outdone by the brilliance of Athapaththu.
Athapaththu, last year’s ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year, continued her dominance in the 50-over format, reclaiming the top spot in the ICC Women’s ODI Batting rankings after a stellar showing in April.
Records tumbled for the Sri Lanka skipper, thanks to a sparkling unbeaten 195 in Potchefstroom against South Africa as the tourists won in a record run chase.
258 ODI runs was complemented by 148 runs in T20Is, which included two half-centuries in South Africa, plus another against Scotland in the ongoing Women’s T20WC Qualifier in Abu Dhabi, where Sri Lanka eventually sealed their qualification thanks to semi-final success on Sunday.
Knight Riders dispatch Super Giants to move top of IPL
Kolkata Knight Riders moved to the top of the Indian Premier League courtesy of a 98-run victory over Lucknow Super Giants.
Sunil Narine hit a sensational 81 from 39 balls, and he was ably supported by Ramandeep Singh's 25 from six deliveries, as KKR reeled off a third straight win on Sunday.
Ramandeep enjoyed a great day in the field too, as he took one of the catches of the season as LSG managed just 137 in response to KKR's 235.
Phil Salt struck 32, but it was fellow opener Narine who did the damage for KKR.
Ravi Bishnoi eventually ended his stand, but only when KKR had reached 140. Angkrish Raghuvanshi (32) had to be substituted out, but Shreyas Iyer added a useful 23 before Ramandeep hammered 25 from just an overs' worth of deliveries.
KL Rahul (25) and Marcus Stoinis (36) tried to get Lucknow going either side of Ramandeep's spectacular catch to dismiss Arshin Kulkarni, but the Super Giants never set the pace to truly trouble Kolkata.
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