England’s Adil Rashid has confirmed he heard former Test captain Michael Vaughan question the number of Asian players in the Yorkshire team.
This supports an accusation made by an ex-teammate who branded the club institutionally racist.
Rafiq was found by an independent report to have been subject to “racial harassment and bullying”, with Yorkshire’s chairman and then chief executive resigning in the fall-out.
Rashid, who has played 199 times for England across all formats, has spent his whole career at the county but has previously kept his counsel on the racism crisis engulfing the club.
But he issued a statement on Monday via The Cricketer website, echoing Rafiq’s claims against Vaughan, who also used to play for Yorkshire, related to a match in 2009.
The ex-England skipper revealed earlier this month that he had been named in the independent investigation into Rafiq’s case but denies telling a group of teammates of Asian ethnicity: “Too many of you lot, we need to do something about it.”
Rashid, who was part of the England team who reached the semi-finals of the recently concluded T20 World Cup, wrote: “I wanted to concentrate as much as possible on my cricket and to avoid distractions to the detriment of the team, but I can confirm Azeem Rafiq’s recollection of Michael Vaughan’s comments to a group of us Asian players.”
The leg-spinner made no new allegations against any of those he has played with or for but welcomed recent steps taken to tackle the matter and said he would be willing to offer his help.
British lawmakers will hear from Rafiq and former Yorkshire chairman Roger Hutton at a parliamentary committee hearing on Tuesday.
“Racism is a cancer in all walks of life and unfortunately in professional sports, too, and is something which of course has to be stamped out,” said Rashid.
“I’m encouraged by the fact that a parliamentary committee seems to be trying to improve the situation, whether that’s holding people accountable or getting changes made at an institutional level.
“These can only be positive developments. I will, of course, be more than happy to support any official efforts when the time is right. For now, though, these matters are of an intensely personal nature and I will not be commenting on them further.”
Vaughan has “categorically” denied making an alleged racist comment. He reiterated his denial in a strongly worded statement on Monday, saying it was the “worst thing” he had experienced.
“Anyone who has viewed the Sky footage of Yorkshire’s pre-match huddle at the game in question in June 2009, and the interaction between the players, would find it hard to reconcile those scenes with the version of events that has been presented,” he said.
“I remember the match clearly because it was the first time in Yorkshire’s history that four players of Asian heritage had been selected in the same team.
“It was an important milestone for the county and it was also a moment of pride for me personally.”
He said he had never been accused of anything “remotely similar” in a 30-year career in cricket as a player and commentator.
“To be confronted with this allegation 11 years after it was supposed to have happened is the worst thing I have ever experienced,” he said.
“It is extremely upsetting that this completely false accusation has been made against me by a former teammate, apparently supported by two other players.”
In another development, the ECB said it was “appalled” by fresh racism claims made by former Essex player Maurice Chambers and vowed to investigate the matter alongside other allegations at the club.
Chambers described in an interview with The Cricketer how he was allegedly subjected to racist bullying for 10 years at the club, including having bananas thrown at him and frequently being subjected to racist jokes.
It follows allegations made by former Essex batsman Zoheb Sharif, who said he received racist abuse that included being called “bomber” by his teammates after the 11 September attacks in 2001.
© Agence France-Presse
