coolerking
Member
A great couple of days. The middle and lower order were simply magnificent.
Bowlers not making much impression here but it does seem to be a pretty flat pitch.
The reason I say it's a flimsy defence is for precisely the reason you state, i.e. that not all young men express views like Davies' merely because they're young. Being young in itself is no excuse whatsoever. A much stronger defence would be to ignore the youth angle and say 'he had terrible parents', 'he's thick', etc. The level of regret thing is interesting: in every case I can think of the person involved has said - almost in the same words - 'I'm not the person now that I was then. I've matured and I no longer hold those views.' The fact that they all say more or less the same thing makes me wonder how sincere they are. Clearly some of those involved in the Rafiq case didn't mature at all as they got older. That's another reason why the youth defence is poor: older people can hold those views too.
I don't think I like the 'he was very young' defence. It implies that racism, sexism, homophobia, etc etc are merely a rite of passage that every young man goes through and comes out the other side. It's nonsense. I grant you that social media didn't exist when I was a young man but I can say without fear of contradiction that I've never been racist, sexist, homophobic, etc etc. I do wonder how these players are being brought up. Second, there's more evidence than anyone needs that a great many people never do come out the other side and continue to exhibit such bigotry as they get older. There's an element of only apologising because they get caught.
As good as we might expect for a temporary stint so fair enough. I doubt if he'll get it full time though; I think Strauss is going to be more ambitious.
Giles is an uninspiring figure who never gives any indication of ever having thought outside the box. Silverwood simply isn't good enough for the position he was appointed to. Yes they've had some success at CC level but in the end they were badly over-promoted. It happens.
Very much the right signing at the right time. He did exactly what these old pros are brought in to do: contributed with bat, ball, in the slips and off the field. The timing is right for him and probably for the club too. Have a happy retirement Bres.
He does sound pretty despondent.
There needs to be some sort of amnesty or truth and reconciliation commission otherwise this could go on indefinitely.
The Club make a good point about all this occurring when he was someone else's employee but the allegations are so serious that his presence here could still cause reputational damage to us, not to mention the possibility that it might deter young cricketers from wanting to join the Bears.
Having now read the entire witness statement from Azeem it's clear that Bres was very much one of the bad guys up there. The picture that emerges is that of a bully who as a senior player made no effort to stop the racist remarks of others, even egging them on and laughing, and who through his bullying of an Asian colleague contributed to him contemplating suicide. I think it's hard to take away any positives from that.
https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/7832/documents/81586/default/
Yes, it doesn't quite hang together does it? For instance, Azeem made the complaint about Bresnan in 2017 (at the time of the incident) so why is Bres only today saying "I have been made aware of the bullying claims made against me..."
The conclusion one can draw is that in 2017 Azeem's complaint was 'handled' in such a way that the accused never even got to hear about it. Which fits in completely with the way we know Yorkshire CCC was being run and what attitudes were.
The relevant page from the report. Not good from Bres.
Plus Bears statement:
“We were both moved and disturbed to hear about Azeem Rafiq’s experiences in cricket at the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee in Parliament today.
"We were also disappointed to learn that Azeem had made complaints about Tim Bresnan when both were playing at Yorkshire CCC.
"We understand this related to a section of Yorkshire CCC’s report into Azeem’s allegations of bullying which said that Tim had commented on Azeem’s weight.
"We have spoken to Tim about this and he admits making such a comment.
"We understand there was no substantiated suggestion of racism against Tim, but he is devastated to learn of the impact of his comments and he apologises unreservedly to Azeem.
“Warwickshire CCC has reminded Tim of the high standards of conduct that are expected from everyone working at the club. We are not currently planning disciplinary action relating to his time at another club, but we will review appropriately if any further allegations arise."
Bresnan statement as reported by the BBC:
Former Yorkshire bowler Tim Bresnan, who was named in Azeem Rafiq's testimony, has released a statement.
“I have been made aware of the bullying claims made against me and have listened to Azeem Rafiq’s account of his time at Yorkshire CCC today with great distress, as I’m sure everyone will have done.
"For any part I played in contributing to Azeem Rafiq’s experience of feeling bullied at Yorkshire, I apologise unreservedly.”
Yep, that's specifically what I was worried about.
It's an appalling situation whichever way you look at it and as others have said the fallout from it will go on for quite a while. I must confess I have worried about the possibility that Warwickshire might be indirectly dragged into it.
I must say I'm a bit disappointed. I think there was a good chance Dom would have played in the Ashes but that's gone now. There isn't a single batter in the two squads (except Root) who doesn't need to work on his technique so it's a good job they haven't all made the same decision as Dom. Personally I think it's rather selfish but I'm sure others will disagree.
That Steven Croft dismissal was very odd but, frankly, tough titty.
Rob Yates still on for his 1000 runs for the season here.