Gary Ballance to stay at Yorkshire, confirms Darren Gough

Ballance, a former England international, was one of individuals implicated in Azeem Rafiq’s allegations of institutional racism at Yorkshire

Interim managing director of cricket, Darren Gough, has confirmed Gary Ballance will remain with Yorkshire.

Ballance, a former England international, was one of the individuals implicated in Azeem Rafiq’s allegations of institutional racism at Yorkshire and later admitted to using racial slurs.

More than a dozen members of the coaching and backroom staff were sacked in the wake of the scandal as chairman Lord Patel made sweeping changes at the club.

However, Ballance will remain at Headingley, with Gough backing him to be a part of the club's new "inclusive and welcoming environment."

^{Azeem Rafiq [Richard Sellers/Getty Images]}

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Gough said: "It was a very difficult situation with Gary. He was disciplined by the club, he admitted the use of racist language and apologised for it.

"It’s crucial all forms of discrimination are eradicated from our game and society, and we talked to Gary about his actions and behaviour. He understands and he’s educating himself.

"He’s going to be part now of an inclusive and welcoming environment that we’re building at Yorkshire and that’s obvious already in our recruitment on the coaching side."

Ballance, who joined Yorkshire in 2008, has long been a key batter in red-ball cricket for the club, and has scored 900-plus runs in three of his past four County Championship seasons.

In 2021, he scored 933 runs in 28 appearances across all formats.