LONDON: Former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan told a hearing into accusations of racism at Yorkshire on Friday it was “inconceivable” that he would make the comment attributed to him by former team-mate Azeem Rafiq.

Vaughan and a number of other former players at the county cricket club face charges related to the use of racially discriminatory language.

Rafiq alleged Vaughan told him and three other Yorkshire players of Asian origin “there’s too many of you lot, we need to do something about it”, before a 2009 T20 match between Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge.

England and Wales Cricket Board lawyer Jane Mulcahy asked Vaughan at the ongoing Cricket Discipline Commission hearing in London whether the words “there’s too many of you lot” were “totally unacceptable” as well as “racist and discriminatory”.

“Absolutely,” said Vaughan, 48, who in his witness statement said: “I consider it to be inconceivable that I would use the words contained in the allegation.”

During cross-examination on Friday, Vaughan insisted: “I have a very clear mind about, back in 2009, that I know I didn’t say the words I’ve been alleged to have said.”

“You’ve got three or four Asian players in the [Yorkshire] team at the same time, I couldn’t have been more proud.”

Published in Dawn, March 4th, 2023