Yorkshire Cricket board approves takeover by Colin Graves-led consortium

Yorkshire County Cricket Club’s board has agreed to a takeover of the club by a consortium led by former chairman Colin Graves.

Graves was chair of Yorkshire from 2012-2015, part of the period for which the club was fined for failing to deal with systemic use of discriminatory or racist language.

Club members will now vote on whether to approve the takeover.

In a statement, the club explained: “The board of Yorkshire County Cricket Club has tonight agreed to recommend the loan agreement from Mr Colin Graves.

“The club will be sending a notice to members tomorrow [Thursday 11 January] ahead of an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) which will outline the details of the offer as well as the resolutions and rule changes that are required to be ratified by members at the EGM.”

The EGM will be held at least 21 days after it has been called.

Graves has previously said he was not aware of any racist behaviour during his time at the club. But he was criticised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) last year after suggesting some incidents were “banter”.

Former Yorkshire player Azeem Rafiq – who revealed he experienced racism at the county – wants Yorkshire’s sponsors to oppose Graves’ return.

Yorkshire has been hunting for investment since losing sponsors over its handling of the racism row. It also had to pay compensation to sacked staff who won claims for unfair dismissal.

The ECB suspended Yorkshire’s right to stage lucrative international matches at its Headingley ground and only reinstated it after significant governance changes were implemented.

Last year, Yorkshire warned it had to repay £14.9m to the family trust owned by Graves, one of its major creditors since a bail-out in 2002.