Yorkshire to host Test cricket in 2022 amid racism scandal as fixtures restored

Yorkshire are reportedly set to have their ban from hosting "international or major matches" lifted by the ECB.

The county were hit with the ban three months ago in the wake of the Azeem Rafiq racism scandal, with the ECB saying they would only lift the suspension when Yorkshire "has clearly demonstrated that it can meet the standards of an international venue, ECB member and first-class county".

Since then, major changes have occurred at Yorkshire, with an entirely new board and coaching staff put in place.

New chair Lord Patel had warned that the club would face a "huge financial crisis" without being able to host England games and he has been pushing for Yorkshire's international status to be reinstated.

Now, the Cricketer are reporting that the ECB have decided to allow Yorkshire to host major matches again, following a presentation from Lord Patel.

The report states that Patel told the ECB that 'all the progress he had made in recent months would be endangered' if the ban continued as the club would be left facing 'the genuine prospect of insolvency'.

It is noted that some members of the ECB board and other county officially were concerned that giving Yorkshire their international status back would make it seem like the scandal had not been taken seriously.

However, it is said the decision has been made in order not to 'derail' the progress Patel has made so far.

Yorkshire are currently scheduled to host an England Test match against New Zealand in June and an ODI against South Africa in July, as well as an Ashes Test next year.

Rafiq himself has called for Yorkshire's ban to be lifted, with the county now moving "in the right direction" under Lord Patel.

"At first in all this I believed international cricket should be taken away from them," he wrote in the Daily Mail. "But they have done enough to warrant getting it back, for now at least.

"It has been a whirlwind since I appeared in front of MPs almost two months ago, and what Yorkshire and Lord Patel have done to bring change is definitely a step in the right direction.

"If we are asking an institution to look at itself then we should recognise when it begins to show it is genuinely sorry and attempts to start putting things right.

"Yorkshire need to be supported and helped to move in that right direction."

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