Azeem Rafiq: “english Cricket Is Institutionally Racist”

Rafiq made an emotional testimony to MPs on Tuesday about racist abuse and bullying he suffered at Yorkshire County Cricket Club.

The former Yorkshire cricketer told a Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) select committee that racist language was constantly used during his time at Yorkshire. Prior to Rafiq’s testimony, both the Chairman and CEO of Yorkshire had resigned from their posts amid the scandal.

Rafiq described the treatment he received from some of the club officials as “inhuman” after his son was still-born in 2017 and he concluded that English cricket is “institutionally racist”.

Since his testimony, more than 1,000 people have contacted an inquiry into discrimination in cricket in the past week.

Investigators have been engulfed in complaints since the ECB-appointed Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC) announced for a ‘call for evidence.’

The Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC) opened a call for evidence from the elite and grassroots game on the 9th November.

Just a day after Rafiq went before the DCMS select committee, Ebony Rainford-Brent MBE, the first black woman to play for England, revealed she received a racist hate letter telling her to “leave our country”

Alongside this, former Yorkshire and Hampshire bowler Tino Best said that cricket needs to tackle a “drinking culture” which is hampering opportunities for Black and Asian players.

Best said “If you’re not a part of the drinking culture, if you’re not a part of the boys’ club, you’re not going to get opportunities after cricket. That is something that is hampering people of colour and Asian ethnicity.”