From the Sunday Telegraph today.
Yorkshire are considering releasing the bombshell Azeem Rafiq racism report by Wednesday, with two more former England internationals now fearing they have been named in it.
Senior figures across cricket and some within the club are pushing hard for the full findings to be published imminently as the sport scrambles to restore trust amid the escalating furore.
After Gary Ballance and Michael Vaughan were named this week as among those accused by Rafiq, two other England players hired lawyers in the expectation they will be identified.
The unnamed pair declined to comment when contacted by Telegraph Sport after a week in which Ballance said "I deeply regret" calling Rafiq a "P---" in "my younger years". Vaughan, however, said in his Telegraph Sport column that he "completely and categorically" denies suggestions he used racially insensitive language.
Rafiq made more than 40 allegations, of which seven were proven, and it is now seen as a matter of time before Yorkshire voluntarily publishes the report following mounting pressure.
Lord Patel of Bradford, the interim chairman drafted in after Roger Hutton dramatically quit on Friday, will address the media for the first time on Monday, and talks had taken place over whether it should be published then.
Amid the worst crisis in the club's 158-year history, the Equality and Human Rights Commission became the latest establishment authority to say that it was "deeply concerned about the incidents of racism" against Rafiq. Commission chief executive Marcial Boo said he has written to the club "to ask for more information, including a full copy of their investigation report, to determine if there has been a breach of the law". "We will take action if so," he added.
Yorkshire's reputation has already endured untold damage during a week in which the most senior figures in Government demanded "heads should roll" and questioned whether the England and Wales Cricket Board was "fit for purpose" over its handling of the saga.
Following an "internal review" sparked by the findings of a 12-month inquiry into race claims tabled by Rafiq, the club announced 10 days ago that "there is no conduct or action taken by any of its employees, players or executives that warrants disciplinary action".
However, leading Government figures launched a barrage of attacks on the club this week, leading to almost all advertisers tearing up deals with the club, after it emerged a "P---" slur aimed by Ballance at Rafiq was dismissed in the report as "friendly banter".
Amid the intensifying crisis, Vaughan was also stood down temporarily from his regular BBC show due to be broadcast on Monday after he voluntarily revealed in The Telegraph that he is among the list of current and former Yorkshire officials accused by Rafiq.
Vaughan's "total" denial that he told Asian players "too many of you lot, we need to do something about it" prompted Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, the former Yorkshire all-rounder, to rally behind Rafiq's version of events.
However, a third player alleged to have been present, Ajmal Shahzad, has previously said he has no recollection of Vaughan saying those words relating to a match at Trent Bridge.
Senior club executives now accept they would have been better off releasing the full 100-page report in September - which was already a year since the independent investigation was launched.
Rafiq, 30, captained Yorkshire in Twenty20 cricket but left the club in 2018 and said he was made to feel like an outsider as a Muslim. He filed a legal claim under the Equality Act in December, alleging direct discrimination and harassment on the grounds of race, as well as victimisation and detriment as a result of his efforts to address racism at the club.
On Friday, Hutton quit dramatically ahead of a board meeting at which he faced being ousted and called on Mark Arthur and Martyn Moxon to follow suit after the club were banned from staging England matches and other showpiece fixtures. Yorkshire later confirmed Stephen Willis, the non-executive director who was on the panel that ruled Gary Ballance calling Azeem Rafiq a P--- had been banter, and Hanif Malik had also quit.
Now, Lord Patel, who last year retired as a director of the England & Wales Cricket Board, has been parachuted into the Headingley hotseat to attempt to clean up the mess.
Colin Graves had been willing to return as chairman but that was ultimately viewed as being too toxic an appointment amid accusations Yorkshire had also been institutionally racist during his own tenure.
Lord Patel said: “The club needs to learn from its past errors, regain trust and rebuild relationships with our communities. There is much work to do, including reading the panel’s report, so we can begin the process of learning from our past mistakes.”
Graves, who was ECB chairman until last year, and Lord Patel served together on the board of the governing body. It remains to be seen whether the latter’s appointment will satisfy those who have demanded wholesale change at the club.
Yorkshire were due to host two England men’s games in 2022 – June’s third Test against New Zealand, and July’s third one-day international against South Africa.