Richard Gould: Azeem Rafiq's 'vindication' makes English cricket's racism reckoning worthwhile

Richard Gould, the ECB's chief executive, says that the Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC) hearings into Azeem Rafiq's allegations of racism at Yorkshire were an important moment for English cricket in its attempts to become the most inclusive sport in the country.

Last Friday, five of the six former Yorkshire players who had been charged by the CDC - Matthew Hoggard, Tim Bresnan, John Blain, Andrew Gale and Rich Pyrah - were found to be in violation of cricket directives for making racist and discriminatory remarks. Former England captain Michael Vaughan, the only one of the six to attend the hearings which took place at the beginning of March, was cleared.

Following the release of the CDC's findings in an 82-page document, ECB chair Richard Thompson had described the investigation and subsequent disciplinary process as "the most complex and thorough" in the governing body's history. Speaking on Wednesday, Gould reiterated that sentiment, adding it was a painful yet necessary undertaking for the game in England and Wales.

"Clearly that was an important moment for the game," Gould said. "That was the culmination of a lot of issues over a long period of time which had become poisonous for the game. We needed to ensure we could deal with those issues.

"The process that culminated on Friday, it culminated in Azeem Rafiq publicly stating that he feels as if he's been vindicated. I think that is a very important moment for somebody that has gone through such a difficult time. And probably it felt as if he was fighting against the system at some point, for him to publicly state that he felt vindicated. I think that's a positive step forward.

"Also, [it's about] the game making sure that we demonstrate that, when we have difficult issues, we are prepared to deal with them. It took a long time and there will be things we need to reflect on, and learn from, to ensure that we can do these things better in future. But the fact the game engaged in that process, saw it through to a conclusion that allowed Azeem Rafiq to say what he said in the way that he did, makes it all worthwhile in that regard."

Gould ceded it was not a perfect process, not least because of the time taken to get to this point. Rafiq made his claims in August 2020, with charges eventually levelled against those accused in June 2022. The hope was for the hearings to occur at the end of the year, however complications arose regarding whether or not they would be held in public.

That ended up being the case, however, the delays throughout only served to exacerbate the ill-feeling around the entire case. All parties involved have been subjected to widespread abuse, to themselves and their families.

"We would clearly like to find ways of expediting processes because we can see from all sides how damaging these can be to the individuals concerned," Gould said. "These are clouds that hang over individuals and their families for a long time, and I think it's incumbent upon all of us to provide clarity as quickly as possible.

"Speeding up processes would be an excellent thing to do. But we need to make sure that's not done at the risk of preventing people from fully engaging in each of the processes."

More reckoning is on the horizon with the imminent publication of a report compiled by the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC). Since being established in 2021 in the wake of the #MeToo and Black Lives Matter movements, the ICEC has received thousands of responses on the English game's shortcomings on issues of race, gender and class. Cindy Butts, who chairs the commission, has already publicly stated the evidence accrued is "staggering".

At present, the findings are expected to be released in June, having been originally pencilled in for the start of 2023. Gould revealed the report is in the fact-checking stage, and regards the delay as nothing more than the commission ensuring it provides the ECB "with the biggest, fullest report possible".

"Clearly, that is going to be a really important report when it lands. We know that we've got huge challenges but we've also got great opportunities to change the sport. That reverberates with me and it's the reason why I'm back here. There's a job to be done, opportunities to be taken and we've got a lot of hard work to be done.

"I'm sure when the ICEC report lands, it will be very helpful in laying that bare to us, so that we're under no illusions in terms of the communities that we have not been engaging with, to the extent that we should have.

"We need to make sure we do become the most inclusive sport in the country by being able to demonstrate that we are wholly representative of the communities we seek to represent."