Azeem Rafiq insisted he will be the first to support Yorkshire should they make changes following the racism scandal at the club, while reflecting on how he coped with the ordeal.
Rafiq suffered racial harassment and bullying while at Yorkshire, which was eventually brought to light and taken in front of a parliamentary select committee in November.
The former off-spinner also accused his former club and England of being institutionally racist, with several high-profile figures at the county either resigning or being dismissed over the handling of the allegations.
Kamlesh Patel is leading the change at Yorkshire after replacing former chairman Roger Hutton, while former England bowler Darren Gough has taken charge after the dismissal of director of cricket Martyn Moxon.
Ottis Gibson was appointed head coach on Wednesday as the replacement for the sacked Andrew Gale and Rafiq reiterated support for the club on the condition that he sees positive change.
He told Stats Perform: "I've said this a few times, from day one I've been clear with Lord Patel. If I see an acceptance and intention, and a will to move in a different direction and change.
"They're not going to get everything right, there's going to be missteps on the way. But as long as I see an intention to change, I will be the first one supporting it.
"I've seen that from day one to be honest. There are a lot of positive things happening at the club and hopefully a lot more to come.
"If people apologise, then there should be a second chance and they should be allowed to change. It's really important that when we're asking individuals or institutions to change when they do try that we support them and not make it harder for them.
"Look, the people that continue to deny that, that's up to them. But it's important that we just continue making sure that the cause is at the forefront of everything that we do.
"I think I've come to accept that this could potentially be my life now."
Rafiq himself was found to have made offensive remarks after anti-Semitic messages he sent in 2011 resurfaced, an act he again apologised for.
"I don't know how I've coped," he added. "But I'm still here, still breathing, still fighting it. Look, there are a few things that have happened.
"As I've said several times, and the anti-Semitic messages that surfaced from myself as a young lad are something that makes me really angry.
"Something I'm really disappointed in myself about, and I've tried my best to apologise to the Jewish community and also trying to spend more time learning about their culture which I'll continue to do.
"But some of the other things that have happened and continue to happen behind the scenes have been outrageous, to be honest.
"It's been difficult because it's got to the point where there have been concerns around my family's physical safety."
Despite his efforts to tell of the troubling experiences that he encountered, Rafiq believes cricket remains in denial of the racial issues within the sport.
"As the DCMS [Department for Culture, Media and Sport] report said, the fact that there was a need for a South Asian action plan just shows that the ECB and the game have been fully well aware of the issue," he continued.
"There is an action plan from 1999, if I'm not wrong, which is readily available online, which shows that there has been an issue for a very long time. Everyone has been aware of it but not wanted to do anything about it.
"It just says everything that it needs to say. That it's taken someone to basically sacrifice their life, in a way, and their future, potentially, to bring this to the forefront.
"The worrying thing for me is how little I still feel that the game has listened since the DCMS. I still feel like the game is in serious denial.
"I have serious concerns that the game is going to try and look at some of the other issues that it has, [and] there's a lot of them, to try and forget about inclusivity and diversity."
Inglis hails 'hard to stop' Stoinis after ruthless knock
Josh Inglis lauded "hard to stop" Marcus Stoinis as Australia signed off their T20I series against Pakistan in style, claiming a whitewash.
The hosts raced to a seven-wicket victory with almost nine overs remaining in Monday's third match.
After Australia's bowlers had limited Pakistan to just 117 runs, Stoinis ensured they signed off their final white-ball assignment in style, with his unbeaten 61 doing the damage.
Only twice has he bettered that knock in T20Is – versus New Zealand in 2021 (78) and against Oman at the World Cup earlier this year (67*).
"It's been a great week. We've had a lot of fun as a group," Inglis said. "It's been really nice.
"When Stoinis is going like that, he is really hard to stop. One of those sixes was probably the biggest I've ever seen!"
Stoinis, who was named player of the match, added: "Nice to score some runs on a beautiful wicket but credit to the bowlers who kept the total down.
"Yeah, I actually told [Haris] Rauf that this is the first time any of us got the better of him! No, he's a brilliant bowler, bowled well this series."
During their white-ball tour, Pakistan won the ODI series, their first time doing so in Australia in 22 years, but got whitewashed in the T20Is.
Despite the heavy loss, captain Agha Salman chose to focus on the positive effect the experience will have on their young players.
"I think in the middle overs, we didn't capitalise on the start," he said. "But lots of positives.
"The way Usman [Khan] batted, the way Jahandad [Khan] bowled. These youngsters will come good.
"It's obviously a big achievement winning the ODI series, but we could have done much better in the T20Is."
Salt century gives England winning start to West Indies T20 series
Phil Salt hit a superb century as England drew first blood in their T20 series against West Indies, with a commanding eight-wicket victory at the Kensington Oval.
Salt's unbeaten 103 off 54 balls was the highlight for the tourists, who successfully chased down their target of 183 with 19 balls to spare.
The West Indies endured a difficult start and were reduced to 18-3 and later 117-8, with Saqib Mahmood (4-34) and Adil Rashid (3-32) doing the damage.
However, the hosts managed 65 runs in the last 5.2 overs to finish at 182-8, with Gukadesh Motie knocking 33 off 14 balls along the way.
Salt kick-started England's chase with 50 off just 25 deliveries taking them to 73-1 after six overs, with Will Jacks (17) dismissed with the final ball of the powerplay.
Jos Buttler's first match after four months out lasted just three minutes, as the skipper was caught by Motie for a golden duck.
However, it proved a false dawn for West Indies, with Salt and Jacob Bethall (58 from 36 balls) safely steering England to victory.
Data Debrief: Salt completes hat-trick of hundreds as Bethell makes historic half-century
England put their disappointing ODI series behind them, making history with the highest T20 chase at the Kensington Oval.
Salt was the hero with his third T20I century, all of which have come against West Indies in the past 12 months.
Bethell also made history on Saturday. Aged 21 years and 17 days, he become the youngest England player to score a 50 in a T20I.
Asalanka leads Sri Lanka to ODI series win over West Indies
Sri Lanka wrapped up the ODI series against the West Indies with a five-wicket victory in Pallekele.
The hosts successfully chased down their opponents' total of 189, giving them an unassailable 2-0 in the three-match series.
Sri Lanka controlled the early powerplay - Asitha Fernando (3-35) and Maheesh Theekshana (3-25) took two wickets apiece to leave the tourists at 31-4 in the ninth over.
Wanindu Hasaranga (4-40) then claimed three of his four wickets as Roston Chase, Romario Shepherd, Hayden Walsh and Alzarri Joseph were all dismissed in the space of 14 balls.
However, Sherfane Rutherford (80 off 82 balls) and Gudakesh Motie (50 not out) steadied the ship to take the Windies from 58-8 to 189.
Although Joseph claimed Avishka Fernando (9) in the fourth over, Nishan Madushka and Sadeera Samarawickrama both chipped in with contributions of 38 to get the hosts to 112-4.
Skipper Charith Asalanka (62 not out) led the charge thereon, while Kamindu Mendis (11) comfortably got them over the line with 34 balls remaining.
Data Debrief: Rutherford-Motie historic stand proves academic for tourists
West Indies were looking to level the series, but their hopes were not aided by Sri Lanka's impressive bowling.
Rutherford and Motie did their best. Their partnership brought 119 runs, which is their nation's highest ninth-wicket stand in ODI history, breaking the previous record of 85 between Yannic Cariah and Alzarri Joseph.
However, it ultimately proved in vain as the hosts secured the series with a game to spare.
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