Michael Vaughan set to be solely charged particular person to look at racism listening to

Former England captain Michael Vaughan is the one charged particular person nonetheless set to look at a disciplinary listening to initially of subsequent month in relation to racism allegations made by his ex-Yorkshire team-mate Azeem Rafiq.

The England and Wales Cricket Board introduced on Tuesday that former Yorkshire participant and bowling coach Richard Pyrah had knowledgeable it he wouldn’t be attending, becoming a member of Andrew Gale, Matthew Hoggard, Tim Bresnan and John Blain in refusing to interact with the method.

Nevertheless, the Cricket Self-discipline Fee panel will nonetheless hear the costs towards these 5 people of their absence. The opposite particular person charged, Gary Ballance, has admitted a cost of utilizing racially discriminatory language and won’t seem, the ECB stated.

The ECB revealed Yorkshire had additionally admitted 4 amended costs and that their representatives would subsequently not seem on the listening to.

These included a failure to deal with systemic use of racist and/or discriminatory language over a chronic interval, and a failure to take enough motion in respect of allegations of racist and/or discriminatory behaviour.

Yorkshire issued their very own assertion confirming that they had admitted the costs, with chair Lord Kamlesh Patel saying: “At this time’s announcement is a crucial step ahead for Yorkshire County Cricket Membership as a part of its journey to study from the previous.

“Since turning into chair it has been clear that we wanted to just accept and take accountability as a membership for the cultural points which allowed racist and discriminatory behaviour to go unchallenged.

“We needs to be pleased with the work that has been performed to construct new foundations for a membership whose ambition is to develop into really welcome to all.

“As I depart the place as chair, it’s basic that the just lately put in board and management group on the membership proceed on this mission and I do know that they’re as dedicated as I’ve been to carry Yorkshire again to the place it needs to be, on and off the pitch.”

The ECB confirmed the listening to would happen in London between March 1 and 9.

Rafiq has beforehand alleged Vaughan instructed him and a gaggle of different gamers of Asian ethnicity there have been “too a lot of you lot, we have to do one thing about it” throughout a huddle earlier than a Yorkshire match in 2009.

Adil Rashid and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan have each corroborated Rafiq’s account of the incident. Ajmal Shahzad has acknowledged he didn’t hear Vaughan say these phrases, and Vaughan himself strenuously denies the allegation.

Rafiq first spoke out concerning the racism he had suffered at Yorkshire, and the affect of it on his psychological well being, in an interview in August 2020.

A subsequent unbiased investigation commissioned by the county upheld seven of the 43 allegations he made, however Yorkshire introduced in October 2021 that no people would face censure as a consequence of the investigation.

Yorkshire’s dealing with of Rafiq’s case prompted main adjustments within the county’s management, with Roger Hutton stepping down as chair to get replaced by Lord Patel. The ECB additionally stripped the county of the precise to host profitable worldwide matches at Headingley till governance reforms had been applied.

The ECB charged the seven people – Ballance, Blain, Bresnan, Gale, Hoggard, Pyrah and Vaughan – in June final yr, together with Yorkshire.

Rafiq has persistently acknowledged his need for the listening to to happen in public, a request which the CDC has upheld even following an attraction.

Hoggard, Bresnan and Blain all acknowledged their intention to withdraw final week. Hoggard instructed the BBC the ECB disciplinary course of had “failed everyone”.