07 February 2023 , 10:49
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Former Yorkshire bowler and coach Rich Pyrah has become the latest individual to withdraw from the ECB's disciplinary process into Azeem Rafiq's allegations of racism.
Pyrah joins Matthew Hoggard, Tim Bresnan, John Blain and Andrew Gale in refusing to attend their Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC) hearings, which will take place between March 1 and March 9.
The ECB charged seven individuals in relation to Rafiq's allegations, but only former England captain Michael Vaughan is set to attend his hearing. Gale refused to engage with the process from the start, while Hoggard, Bresnan and Blain withdrew last week.
Gale has branded the process "tainted", Hoggard has claimed it has "failed everybody" and Bresnan says he feels he has been "charged and tried without even being arrested". In a statement, the ECB confirmed that Gary Ballance has "admitted liability in response to the charge against him for his use of racially discriminatory language and will therefore not be participating in this CDC hearing".
The ECB added that Yorkshire had also "admitted liability in response to four amended charges, including a failure to address systemic use of racist and/or discriminatory language over a prolonged period and a failure to take adequate action in respect of allegations of racist and/or discriminatory behaviour" and would not be participating either.
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Lord Kamlesh Patel, who is Yorkshire's co-chair alongside Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, said: "Today's announcement is an important step forward for Yorkshire County Cricket Club as part of its journey to learn from the past.
The ECB charged seven individuals over Rafiq's allegations, but Michael Vaughan will be the only one attending his Cricket Discipline Commission hearing (Popperfoto via Getty Images)"Since becoming Chair it has been clear that we needed to accept and take accountability as a Club for the cultural issues which allowed racist and discriminatory behaviour to go unchallenged. We should be proud of the work that has been done to build new foundations for a Club whose ambition is to become truly welcome to all."
The ECB have also rejected criticisms of their disciplinary process, insisting it has been "both rigorous and fair", while Rafiq said it was "regrettable" to see people pulling out in a statement released earlier this month. "Over the past two years I have been vindicated time and again," he said.
"This has included a legal investigation that confirmed I was a victim of racial harassment and bullying; a Yorkshire commissioned panel that concluded I suffered discrimination; numerous apologies, both public and private, from people who witnessed or were involved in this behaviour; and others have come forward to confirm the culture in the wider game. It is regrettable, though, that these defendants are not willing to go to a public hearing and face what happened."