Azeem Rafiq says he “clearly” recalls Michael Vaughan making an alleged racist comment in 2009 regardless of discrepancies in his proof.
Ex-England captain Vaughan is accused of claiming “there’s too a lot of you lot, we have to have a phrase about that” to Rafiq and three different Asian gamers at Yorkshire earlier than a T20 match.
At a listening to into allegations of racism at Yorkshire on Thursday, the cross-examination of Rafiq by Vaughan’s lawyer targeted on why the declare appeared with totally different wording in different statements.
Rafiq instructed an unbiased investigation commissioned by Yorkshire that Vaughan had stated: “There’s too a lot of you lot, we have to do one thing about it.”
When requested by Vaughan’s lawyer Christopher Stoner KC why there’s a discrepancy, Rafiq stated: “I haven’t got a proof in any respect.”
He added it was a “clear mistake” in his assertion and interview with regulation agency Squire Patton Boggs through the preliminary investigation and that he takes “full duty” for it.
However, he stated he needed to make it “very clear” that Vaughan did say the phrase “there’s too a lot of you lot” and that’s the “discriminatory” a part of the comment.
“The comment on the day clearly stands out and it nonetheless hurts,” he stated.
He added the model of the comment “we have to have a phrase about that” is the right one, which he first stated in an interview with Wisden in August 2020 – with out initially naming Vaughan – then repeated through the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) investigation.
Vaughan, who is about to present proof on the listening to on Friday, “completely and categorically” denies the allegation.
England spinner Adil Rashid and former Yorkshire and Pakistan bowler Rana Naved-ul-Hasan have corroborated the allegation.
The fourth participant within the group, former England bowler Ajmal Shahzad had stated he has no recollection of it.
Rashid ‘not pressured’ by Rafiq
Giving proof by way of video hyperlink from Bangladesh, the place he’s taking part in for England in a one-day worldwide collection, Rashid stated he had by no means been “pressured” by Rafiq into corroborating the allegation in opposition to Vaughan.
Rashid launched a press release on 15 November 2021 by way of journalist George Dobell in The Cricketer journal which, as Vaughan’s lawyer identified, was “nicely over a yr” after Rafiq’s allegations had been first made.
Under questioning from Stoner, Rashid confirmed he heard Vaughan make the alleged comment however doesn’t consider he’s a racist and that it was a “poor try at humour”.
In an interview with the ECB, a transcript of which was proven within the listening to, Shahzad stated he felt Rashid was “being pressurised” by Rafiq.
Speaking of a dialog with Rashid, Shahzad instructed the ECB: “[Rashid] was very uncomfortable with the place this was going. He needed to nip it within the bud sooner slightly than later as a result of fairly frankly he was uncomfortable with how a lot Rafiq knew about Adil.”
He continued within the interview to say: “And sooner or later [Rafiq] was able to, , utilizing one thing that he knew about [Rashid] personally in opposition to him.”
Rashid denied any recollection of this dialog, and in addition denied claims made in a witness assertion by former Yorkshire head of HR Liz Neto.
Neto alleged Rashid had been “distressed” throughout telephone calls and indicated to her that he was being pressured to corroborate Rafiq’s allegations, including he had stated he had instructed Rafiq “irrespective of what number of occasions you inform me I heard it Azeem, I can’t keep in mind listening to it”.
“I didn’t say that. I feel she is confused with that state of affairs,” Rashid instructed the listening to, repeatedly stating he “wasn’t pressured by Azeem”.
The listening to revealed Rashid and Rafiq had been enterprise companions after opening a fish and chip store in October 2021, which closed a yr later.
However, Rashid stated they signed paperwork and acquired the keys “method earlier than” any of Rafiq’s allegations got here to mild in August 2020.
More to comply with.
