Colin Graves' return to Yorkshire was the only option

THE CRICKETER'S VIEW: Despite strenuous efforts to find a buyer who would repay the debt and invest further in the club, there was no realistic alternative to Graves, which the ECB appears to have accepted

The likely return of Colin Graves as chair of Yorkshire will raise eyebrows but, in reality, the club have little option.

Yorkshire County Cricket Club is a business in serious debt, despite staging a men's Ashes Test last summer. They owe more than £15m to Graves through his family trust, which in normal business terms means the debt holder calls the shots. The ECB feel they cannot come to the rescue, otherwise they would have to do the same for the other 17 first-class counties. 

Despite strenuous efforts to find a buyer who would repay the debt and invest further in the club, there was no realistic alternative to Graves, which the ECB appears to have accepted. 

In addition, he genuinely cares about Yorkshire cricket.

^{Yorkshire are in serious debt despite hosting a men's Ashes Test last summer [Ashley Allen/Getty Images]}

His proposed deputy is Phillip Hodson, who has impeccable credentials as a recent former chair of the MCC Foundation and the Yorkshire CCC Charitable Trust, both of which do brilliant work with underprivileged youngsters of whatever colour, gender, race or creed.

Graves was wrong to dismiss the racist comments to Azeem Rafiq during the time he was club chair between 2012 and 2015 as 'banter'. The ECB condemned him for it. The organisation Sporting Equals have spoken against his return to the club because of this. However, Graves wants to apologise for that.

It should be acknowledged that when he was chair of the ECB, Graves introduced the corporate governance code demanded by Sport England, which ensures greater diversity on sporting boards. This was subsequently also embraced by the counties.

It was reported that Mike Ashley, the controversial former Newcastle United owner, was also in the running to take over Yorkshire. He wanted to buy Headingley and make a sizeable profit by leasing the famous old ground back to the club. Is this something that Yorkshire supporters wanted? Newcastle fans were glad to see the back of him.

Graves dismissal of racist comments to Azeem Rafiq as 'banter' was condemned by the ECB.[Stu Forster/Getty Images]

It is also understood that the ECB blocked a bid from IPL team owners.

Without Graves, who founded the successful business, Costcutter, the chain of convenience stores, Yorkshire would have been bankrupt years ago. His commitment has been demonstrated by the money he has put into the club, and the further investment that he is prepared to make. He is taking a risk with more of his own money.

Yorkshire is a hugely important county for English cricket. It is one of the most famous cricket clubs in the world. It needs a period of stability which, it seems, only Graves can provide. 

We acknowledge that there will be discord about the move. How much he should be blamed for what happened to Azeem Rafiq is subjective. 

Some of the things that happened when he went on to become chair of the ECB – the creation of The Hundred and the severe punishments handed out to Durham in 2016, for example – upset many people, but are not pertinent to his return. 

It's time to face the reality and move on. The alternative was to let Yorkshire go bust, which no one wants to see.

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