Yorkshire CCC: Lord Kamlesh Patel prepares to lead White Rose on unifying ‘journey’

LEADING THE WAY: Lord Kamlesh Patel, the new Yorkshire County Cricket Club chairman, pictured at Headingley on Monday. Picture: Simon Hulme.

In a hugely impressive first press conference as the new Yorkshire chairman, Patel took the first steps towards achieving that aim in the wake of the racism scandal that has devastated the club, seen it lose the majority of its sponsors and resulted in an unprecedented suspension from international cricket.

Patel’s message was honest, compassionate, unifying and clear: everyone must work together to make Yorkshire CCC a club for all.

The 61-year-old said that he wanted to find the next world stars such as Joe Root, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli and Babar Azam from within the county’s culturally rich and diverse communities. It was a message – and a transparency – that might have averted much of the damage of recent days had Yorkshire adopted that approach from the start, after former player Azeem Rafiq first raised his allegations in August last year.

Azeem Rafiq had a six-hour plus conversation with new Yorkshire CCC chairman Lord Kamlesh Patel. Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com

Patel, who had only been chairman for 72 hours since Roger Hutton’s departure when he addressed the cameras in the Headingley Long Room, said that he had already spent about six-and-a-half hours talking to Rafiq, asking the 30-year-old to “sit on my shoulder” and “challenge me” throughout the rebuilding process.

Patel did not dismiss Yorkshire as institutionally racist, as many have, saying that he needs to discover the facts before forming a judgement.

He also suggested that there was a way back for anyone who had previously transgressed, such as the former England batsman Gary Ballance, who admitted using racial slurs to Rafiq in the context of two best friends trading insults socially.

“You only have to look a few months back with Ollie Robinson,” said Patel, referring to the England bowler who was found to have posted historically offensive tweets.

FOLLOW ME: Lord Kamlesh Patel, the new Yorkshire County Cricket Club chairman at Monday's Headingley press conference. Picture: Simon Hulme.

“It depends what the context is. If they think it’s just banter, then there isn’t a place for them here. If they reflect on it and it was a moment where – as Ollie Robinson did – they realised they made a big mistake (then maybe it’s different).

“We’re going to have to go on a journey (at Yorkshire). I’m a social worker. I believe human beings can change.

“If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have worked with drug users and people locked up in prison cells.”