RAFIQ'S RACISM CLAIMS CONFIRM ALL IS NOT ROSY

Allegations of racism made against Yorkshire CCC by Azeem Rafiq, their former player and Twenty 20 captain, have reopened wounds that run deep and long at the White Rose county.

- PETER HAYTER

Rafiq, who was born in Pakistan, raised in Barnsley and on the staff at Headingley for ten years until he played his last match in 2018, told ESPN Cricinfo: “Do I think there is institutional racism (at Yorkshire)? It’s at its peak in my opinion. It’s worse than it’s ever been. ”

Rafiq told how he was close to committing suicide during his time with the club. “I was living my family’s dream as a professional cricketer but inside I was dying. There were times I did things to try and fit in that, as a Muslim, I now look back on and regret. I’m not proud of it. But as soon as I stopped trying to fit in, I was an outsider.”

The off-spinner further claimed he played under a captain who was “openly racist”.

“Everyone else seemed to find him funny,” he said, “but I just felt isolated. I knew I should speak out and say something and I nearly always didn’t. But when I finally did I was immediately isolated. I was made to feel like I was the one who had done something wrong.”

The club responded by announcing a formal investigation into Rafiq’s claims and “a wider review of YCCC’s policies and culture”, with chairman Roger Hutton conceding: “We accepted a long time ago that change was needed at Headingley to improve diversity especially in terms of racial inclusivity.”

We wish them well in their endeavors and cricket needs and demands that they should succeed.

Keywords and phrases: culture, institutional racism and “everyone else just seemed to find him (an ‘openly racist’ captain) funny”.

That last reference struck me first because it reminded me of a story told by Basil D’Oliveira, who knew a thing or two about these matters.