Yorkshire preparing to start a new season after a rough winter and a fresh start at Headingley; Chairman Lord Kamlesh Patel believes new manager Ottis Gibson will help “foster a culture of inclusion” at the club unhinged by the fallout from Azeem Rafiq’s confirmed racism allegations
When Dom Bess sent the final installment of the Yorkshire County Championship campaign at Trent Bridge last September, the club could hardly have imagined the turmoil that would haunt the winter months at Headingley.
Shortly before the end of the season, Yorkshire decided to release a statement confirming that former all-rounder Azeem Rafiq had been the victim of “racial harassment and intimidation”, on the same day the final test in England was called off at the last minute. against India. . A month later, they announced that no one would be punished for his part in what happened.
Rafiq had been fighting for recognition and remorse for over a year and this was another difficult conclusion for him to accept. But finally, as winter approached, the walls began to close in on Yorkshire.
As details of the never-before-seen report on Rafiq’s claims began to leak out, things quickly unraveled: Major sponsors fell like dominoes, Headingley was temporarily banned from hosting international cricket and Rafiq was called to testify under parliamentary privilege in front of a DCMS committee and attracted attention. heartbreaking conclusion that institutional racism had cost him his career.
Meanwhile, Yorkshire icons including Michael Vaughan, Martyn Moxon and Andrew Gale were mentioned in testimony alleging an alarming wardrobe culture.
Lord Kamlesh Patel subsequently replaced Roger Hutton as chairman and all of the club’s backroom staff were removed. The legendary figure of Darren Gough was parachuted in as interim director of cricket and Yorkshire was hardly recognizable.
Gough felt his task was “just to improve morale on the cricket side” but that is an understatement, a host of new faces needed to be appointed and the coaching staff was headed by West Indian Ottis Gibson.
Lord Patel believed Gibson would help “foster a culture of inclusion” but even the Barbadian admitted he had to consider whether Yorkshire was the right move.
“You always have to ask yourself ‘do you want to be a part of what you’re listening to?’ But Yorkshire is still one of the best counties in the country,” Gibson said. Sky sports news.
“The big thing for me was having a conversation with Darren Gough, a very passionate and proud man from Yorkshire, about where he wants to take the club.
“When I heard what he had in store for the club, I thought ‘why not come and be a part of positive change’, not just on the pitch but off the pitch as well.”
Gibson’s arrival has been a popular one in the locker room, a group of players badly in need of stability with so little attention to cricket in the run-up to the season.
Captain Steve Patterson believes the culture is changing and says the players would welcome more guidance from the PCA, as well as help from their coach.
“He’s been a very calming influence after a winter of many changes,” Patterson said.
“He comes with an incredible resume and a level of experience at the highest level. A player and manager of the highest caliber. He has great value in the locker room.”
Added Gibson: “If I was walking down the street and somebody said something to one of my teammates that I didn’t like, I’d say something.
“It’s the same in the locker room. If you don’t think it’s right, you have a responsibility to say ‘listen, that’s a little bit over the line.'”
The door was also left open for Gary Ballance, who was initially suspended after being heavily implicated in the DCMS hearing. Ballance is now taking time off from the game to take care of his mental well-being, but he’ll be welcomed back when he’s ready to return.
“Gary is devastated by what he’s been labeled,” Gibson said. “He owns it. He’s not hiding behind anything he said. He’s said some things he shouldn’t have said.”
“He’s not in a good place mentally so we’re giving him some time. The ECB is doing an investigation and we can’t anticipate what they’re going to do so we have to wait for their findings and once we understand what their sanctions are.” . could be, that will be the next step for Gary.
“After speaking with him, he told me that he is willing to meet Rafiq at some point, but he is not ready for that yet. They used to be best friends, so I am sure that when he is ready he will try to communicate.” and have that conversation. But he mentally he’s not ready for that yet.”
There was a genuine sense of relief on Patterson’s part at the opportunity to speak on-field matters at the club’s preseason media day. He spoke warmly of his pride at the England debut of Yorkshire youngsters Harry Brook and Matt Fisher.
But there are also those who return from the international winter with a point to prove: Dawid Malan and Dom Bess were victims of Andrew Strauss’s Caribbean sacrifice following England’s defeat at Ashes.
