It’s a thoroughly depressing but all too believable situation for a game I love very much. I suspect it is a reflection of society at large as much as it is symptomatic of cricket specifically.

As to Rafiq’s admission – the most educative part to this chapter of the whole story is his tweet….

“I have gone back to check my account and it is me”

This is someone who has suffered as the victim of racism and is attuned to what is looks like and the impact on the recipients. Way more than I ever will be because I am ‘lucky’ enough not to have been a victim of racism. Yet he still had to go back and look at his own messages to see if he really did say that because presumably he couldn’t remember. If that is not a sombre indictment of the human condition that casual racism is lurking not too deep in all of us I don’t know what is.

With that in mind I am convinced we all need to primarily focus on admitting errors of the past but mainly working on a more inclusive, kinder and more responsible future.

The explanation and ownership of his own racism puts miles between the person he is, and the response thus far from other cricketers and YCC in particular.

Indeed. The full reasons Hales was dropped from the English team were broad and elements are become more public now.

YCC has also failed hugely.

Personably, I think it’s quite possible that there was vast amounts of institutionalised racism at Yorkshire CC and also that Rafiq is not wholly innocent in this.
But the latter does not in any way lessen how bad the former is.
I suspect that the Yorkshire dressing room was a pretty toxic place for all who were in it, and few there were not involved at all.

The explanation and ownership of his own racism puts miles between the person he is, and the response thus far from other cricketers and YCC in particular.

Very much this. Lots of us have probably said offensive things when we were young and stupid and/or ignorant. I’m sure I probably did. But owning up, apologising and learning from mistakes is the only way to move forwards.

I don’t doubt racism exists in cricket but wonder how much of this is a continuation of the ‘Gentlemen & Players’ attitude.
I know local clubs who in the recent past have pretty much refused to pick/include very good players on the basis that they aren’t one of us (he talked wrong, drove a delivery van). I am sure if he had had a different skin tone he would have had an equally hard time unless he had been a hospital consultant or partner in a law firm. It’s not just racism that is destroying the sport it’s small minded snobbery

Gentleman in cricket seems a bit far off right now
No happy ending for Tim Paine either Steve Smith for Australia captain?

Marina

Just watching Michael Vaughan being interviewed by Dan Walker. Squirming out of answering questions. Guilty as charged.

The anti Asian racism in yorkshire cricket has been well known for decades and its continues well below the county game

It almost became apartheid like in that there developed two different structure for recreational cricket – one asian and one white -because the asianplayer could not get a game otherwise

Vaughan was well known for his racism – not the deliberate type but the unthinking type

Not to try and make him a hero but I think it’s worth noting how good Matthew Hoggard’s response was to all this. He called Rafiq in person and apologised for his part in it, said he didn’t realise how what he’d said made Rafiq feel at the time, but he was genuinely sorry.

Compare and contrast to some of these half-arsed or non-apologies delivered publicly via Twitter, possibly with consultation of a PR team.

Yet he still had to go back and look at his own messages to see if he really did say that because presumably he couldn’t remember.

And he has made the point about MV that he probably doesn’t remember stuff he said IRL either because t wasn’t important to him at the time.

Small sample size but I’m on a cricket fan group on FB and most of the talk from cricket fans and especially Yorkshire fans on there is of the ‘PC gone mad’/’well he’s a racist anyway how dare he’ variety. 🙄