Test cricket’s return to Yorkshire green-lit after members approve reforms following Azeem Rafiq racism case

AFP via Getty Images
Marc Mayo31 March 2022

Yorkshire County Cricket Club will once again host England Test matches after approving a series of reforms aimed at tackling the issues uncovered in the Azeem Rafiq racism scandal.

Three resolutions drawn up by the ECB were put to members at an Extraordinary General Meeting on Thursday night, which represented the deadline set out by the cricket authority, with each being voted in by between 83 and 85 per cent of ballots cast.

The approval will herald the reinstatement of Headingley as a Test venue ahead of it hosting the third match of the series with New Zealand this summer, starting on June 24. The ground will also host the final match of the ODI series against South Africa a month later.

Lord Kamlesh Patel, Chair of YCCC, said: “We welcome the outcome of this EGM and thank the Members for their full and proper consideration, an open exchange of views, and their votes.

“It is an overwhelming vote for positive change.

“This support will help Yorkshire County Cricket Club to be an inclusive and welcoming place and gives us the clarity and certainty we need to keep building this great club.

“Yorkshire has now met the ECB’s conditions for the return of international cricket and, working with them, we’ll deliver some great events here at Headingley this summer.

“We’re looking forward to the start of the season, for all our teams and for cricket at all levels right across this county.”

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