Director of cricket Martyn Moxon, head coach Andrew Gale and director of medical services Wayne Morton all had their exits confirmed by Yorkshire on Friday
As many as sixteen members of Yorkshire’s backroom, coaching and medical staff are to leave the club as part of a cultural review at Headingley.
Director of cricket Martyn Moxon, head coach Andrew Gale and director of medical services Wayne Morton all had their departures confirmed by Yorkshire on Friday.
Moxon - who has been off work due to a stress-related illness - was heavily implicated in the evidence given by Azeem Rafiq to both the initial investigation into allegations of institutional racism at Yorkshire, and his subsequent appearance in front of the DCMS select committee.
Gale had already been suspended pending an investigation into anti-Semitic social media posts from 2010.
They will depart as new chairman Lord Kamlesh Patel, the former ECB director now charged with rehabilitating Yorkshire’s image and standing in the game, continues to make sweeping changes.
Director of cricket Martyn Moxon is leaving Headingley (Nigel Roddis/Grtty Images)
Other members of staff at the club expected to leave include coaches Paul Grayson and Richard Pyrah, and the HR director Liz Neto, whose email exchange with a supporter - in which she called the fan a "coward" was reported by BBC Sport in November.
One of those medical staff understood to be effected by the announcement is Peter Sim.
He is currently the strength and conditioning coach with the England Lions squad which is shadowing the England team on the Ashes tour in Brisbane.
It is currently unclear if he is going to remain with the tour party.
Yorkshire will need to move quickly to fill the many voids in their backroom teams, with the new county season just four months away and players reporting for pre-Christmas fitness training.
YORKSHIRE STAFF DEPARTURESMartyn Moxon (director of cricket)Andrew Gale (head coach)Richard Pyrah (bowling coach)Paul Grayson (batting coach)Ian Dews (second team coach)Richard Damms (academy coach)Backroom medical team, provided by Pavilion Physiotherapy ClinicLiz Neto (head of HR)
A new director of cricket is expected to be announced next week.
Patel said: “Significant change is required at Yorkshire County Cricket Club and we are committed to taking whatever action is necessary to regain trust. The decisions announced today were difficult to make, but are in the best interests of the club. Without making important changes to how we are run, we cannot move on from the past to become a culture which is progressive and inclusive.
“We want to make Yorkshire County Cricket Club a place for everyone, from all backgrounds. To do this, we need to rebuild our culture and instil positive values in everyone associated with Yorkshire. We are determined to learn from the mistakes of the past to become a club which people can trust.'
Head coach Andrew Gale is to depart (Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)
“We are hoping to announce a new director of cricket in the coming days. We have a huge rebuilding job to do but we are confident that this heralds a step forward towards a brighter future.”
The mass exodus comes the month after former chairman Roger Hutton and ex-chief executive Mark Arthur both resigned their posts.
On Thursday, Yorkshire announced the appointment of the Good Governance Institute and law firm Howard Kennedy to conduct an independent governance review of the club.
The report is due to be presented to the Yorkshire board and the ECB on January 24, while its recommendations for the future governance of Yorkshire will be made widely available ahead of the club’s AGM in March.
Meanwhile, a whistleblower hotline for former employees of the club to detail any experiences of racism or other discrimination during their time at Headingley has received more than 50 messages since it was established on November 15.
The chair of the DCMS select committee, Julian Knight MP, said on Friday that he welcomed the decision by Yorkshire to part with the respective members of staff.
In a statement, Knight said: “The experience of Azeem Rafiq at YCCC demanded no less.
“On Tuesday we will be discussing racism in cricket with the National Asian Cricket Council and considering the ECB’s 12-point plan to tackle it.”
Posted by Samuel Cameron on 11/12/2021 at 18:58
it is to be noted that Patel is declining to make himself available for comment on this matter when approached by newspapers. Even if you think these people should be out of the club the handling of their departure is wrong in terms of employment law. According to Davd Hopps article in cricinfo these people were sacked because they wrote a letter saying the club should have defended itself against the charges. One reason it did not is because reputation managers told it to shut up and plead guilty to damp down the flames. Thus we have the double speak world of people apologising and accepting blame who actually think they are innocent because they will be bullied out of their jobs and on social media if they maintain what they believe to be true because it does not play with the narrative of moral panic and blame. On top of that we have people sacked who were never implicated in the alleged scandal. One wonders if Patel is comprehensively silent on accusations from the sacked because his reputation managers have advised him to shut up. And also if they advised him to initially put out the bogus claim that the sacked had 'left' the club. Leaving is voluntary I think. One also wonders what the diagnosis of Rafiqu's much trumpeted mental health problems are so we can see a list of the symptoms and assess whether any of them have a bearing on how reliable his evidence would be in a court of law.
Posted by Joff on 10/12/2021 at 18:26
Have I been transported to Iran .Unless I am mistaken it is innocent until proven guilty in this country.Even Peter Sutcliffe had a fair trial in my opinion this is not the case for the 16 YCCC staff members .Absolutely disgusting
Posted by Susan Price on 06/12/2021 at 15:11
Really pleased by this decision only wish Ballance had gone too. I cant renew my membership while he is on staff, you cant support a team when you want one of the batters to be out first ball can you? Personally I would prefer people from outside Yorkshire to be appointed to the coaching staff, it’s time we moved on with our general approach as well as getting rid of the racism. I’m sure the appointment of Goughie though will be welcomed by most, one of his greatest skills is being able to communicate a skill that has been lacking for years at YCCC. If any of the other players want to go that’s fine by me as I would see that as a lack of commitment to the new Yorkshire where the colour of your skin is irrelevant
Posted by Andrew Marshall on 05/12/2021 at 21:08
I am very disappointed about all this I hope we can get a team together and play really well together and show we can be strong
Posted by Marc Evans on 03/12/2021 at 23:54
Probably inevitable given the continuing fallout, but good to see backroom staff like HR seeing the chickens coming come to roost. However you do feel that without an Asian chairman the board might have wriggled its way out with lesser punishment, so it's something unlikely to be repeated elsewhere, as it brings the entire hierarchy into disrepute. The sad thing is that few outside the game will be all that surprised, especially with the northern counties where the concentration of Asian communities are greatest.
Posted by Jerry Taylor on 03/12/2021 at 22:33
So the entire staff are racists? They will pursue damages Patel needs to be brought to book to determine his real agenda
Posted by Joe JW Cavanagh on 03/12/2021 at 20:19
Will the Kitman role be given to Azeem?
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