Sponsor seeks assurance as Graves prepares Yorkshire return

Former Yorkshire County Cricket Club chair, Colin Graves, is set to return after Yorkshire’s board formally approved a bid from the consortium he leads to take over the club.

All that remains is for YCCC’s members to ratify the board’s decision at an extraordinary general meeting.

Graves was censured by the English Cricket Board (ECB) last year for dismissing racist comments – some made during his previous tenure as YCCC chair between 2012 and 2015 – as “locker room banter”.

On Thursday Graves issued a ‘personal and unreserved’ apology for racism at the club. “Discrimination or abuse based on race, ethnicity or any other protected characteristic is not and never will be acceptable,” he said.

He added, “I profoundly regret some of the language I used when asked about the events that took place when I was chairman, at a time when I was no longer at the club. I understand and sympathise with those who regarded my comments as dismissive or uncaring.

“I am determined to do whatever is required to ensure Yorkshire County Cricket Club continues to reflect the communities it represents. The club cannot and will not succeed unless it is united in its commitment to meet the highest professional standards, on and off the field.”

In an opinion article in The Guardian on Saturday, former player Azeem Rafiq called on the club’s sponsors to consider their position. “Does Colin Graves reflect your values? Is it acceptable to describe racism as banter?” he asked current sponsors.

And in further reaction this week, Rafiq told the BBC that Graves’ expected return “empowers” racists.

“It sends the message loud and clear to South Asians that cricket is not a welcoming and safe place for us,” he said. “For a long time I saw Yorkshire as my club, I no longer do.”

Rafiq’s 2020 revelations about inappropriate comments and culture at Yorkshire sparked a national outcry, and led to the ECB temporarily suspending the club from hosting international games. His book It’s Not Banter, It’s Racism is due out in April.

One of the sponsors Rafiq has called out is Morley-based Al-Murad Group. The firm is the UK’s largest independent tiling and stone flooring importer and retailer.

Al-Murad entered into a three-year sponsorship deal with YCCC in 2022, when Lord Kamlesh Patel was chairman. Their sponsorship has helped develop the Pathway project, which aims to provide opportunities for young people of all backgrounds and ethnicities to get into the game through the county age groups, with the ultimate aim of diversifying the elite teams.

When the sponsorship was first announced, group founder Murad Ali Patel said, “The Azeem Rafiq scandal had a widespread impact on communities in Yorkshire and many within our business were deeply hurt by it. However, since Lord Patel took over as Chair of the Club in November we have been heartened to see widespread change that is needed to make cricket an inclusive game for all.

“It is crucially important that every boy and girl from any background, faith and community has an equitable chance to shine and succeed at YCCC and in the wider game.”

In the wake of last night’s board decision, a spokesperson for Al-Murad said they needed reaffirmation that the  programme would be supported.

“We are on a journey,” he said. “Above all it’s about recognition that the previous regime did not deliver equity, and equality.

“What Al-Murad is doing with its community investment with is to basically inject some rigor and scrutiny and accountability. We’d like to truly create a level playing field, so perceived economic, social and coaching, barriers and bias are removed.

“What we now need is a reaffirmation of the fact that this will continue, some tangibles in terms of what the future would look like, and how we can account for improvements in the county age groups and the pathway programs. And ultimately that the county’s premier elite teams, both men and women, are reflective of the diversity of the entire county, and of the global game, because, frankly, talent is now a global phenomenon.

“If we don’t grow that talent, it will have to be bought in from elsewhere, which is expensive. It’s in all our interest to grow homegrown talent.”