ECB lift suspension on Yorkshire hosting England matches at Headingley

London, February 11: The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has lifted its suspension on Yorkshire hosting international and major matches in the wake of the Azeem Rafiq racism scandal, as long as certain conditions are met.

Yorkshire were suspended from hosting England games back in November.

Rafiq suffered racial harassment and bullying while at Yorkshire, which was eventually brought to light and taken in front of a parliamentary select committee.

Yorkshire have since undergone wholesale change. Kamlesh Patel has replaced Roger Hutton as chairman, while former England bowler Darren Gough has taken charge after the dismissal of director of cricket Martyn Moxon.

Ottis Gibson was appointed head coach in January, replacing Andrew Gale, who was sacked.

Subsequently, the ECB confirmed on Friday that England games due to be played at Headingley in 2022 will now take place in Leeds as initially planned.

However, this is subject to further conditions being met by the end of March.

England are scheduled to face New Zealand in a Test in June and an ODI against South Africa in July, while Headingley is also due to host an Ashes Test in 2023.

"The board welcomed the hard work and actions taken by Yorkshire towards putting the club on a new path," said ECB interim chair and cricket non-executive director Barry O'Brien.

"Alongside the progress already made, we considered many factors in reaching our decision. Amongst them, the impact on fans who have bought tickets in good faith and the young people who will benefit from Yorkshire's improved outreach and pathway provisions.

"Finally, the board was mindful that the return of international cricket will support continued change and progress at the club.

"I very much hope that the traumatic events that have taken place at Yorkshire over the past several months and years will act as a catalyst for increasing the pace of change throughout the game."

The requirements Yorkshire must fulfil by March 31 are "to resolve the issues relating to rule changes and decisions at the club which have been subject to procedural flaws and to show amendments to club rules relating to the appointment and operation of the board, including removal of Graves Trust powers."