On Monday, former England bowler Darren Gough was named director of cricket at Yorkshire, promising to rebuild the club after it was forced to fire its entire coaching staff following a racism incident.
Since retiring in 2008, Gough has become a prominent figure in the broadcasting industry, having spent 15 years at Yorkshire in two stints.
After announcing the departure of 16 staff on Friday, including Martyn Moxon, Yorkshire’s director of cricket since 2007, and head coach Andrew Gale, Yorkshire, English cricket’s most successful team, resorted to Gough. Following criticism of Yorkshire’s handling of racism claims levelled by former player Azeem Rafiq, club chairman Roger Hutton and later chief executive Mark Arthur both resigned.
“Like many others, I’ve watched with regret and outrage how the club handled the current racist charges,” Gough stated. “I’m excited to be a part of the rebuilding of cricket in Yorkshire, and I’m looking forward to working with such a brilliant set of players.”
“I’m also aware of my broader responsibility to listen to everyone and make everyone who is a part of our club feel welcome, instilling the values we want to be associated with the White Rose: honesty, straight conversation, hard effort, integrity, and excellence.”
Gough will renounce his media duties in the job, which he will hold until the conclusion of the 2022 season, and one of his first priorities will be to oversee the hiring of a new coaching staff.
For the club to recover trust, Kamlesh Patel, who succeeded Hutton as chairman, has stated that “substantial reform” is required.
“I share Lord Patel’s vision for Yorkshire County Cricket Club, as well as the collaborative will to confront the difficulties head on with a series of good initiatives,” Gough stated. “Change will take time, but I am confident that we can make Headingley roar once more.”
Rafiq was a victim of “racial abuse and bullying” at Yorkshire, according to a report.
“I talk to Azeem on a regular basis, I’m friends with him, and I contact him [to check on his] well-being because I know what he’s been through,” Gough said last month on Talk Sport. “To be honest, he’s touched rock bottom time and time again in this, and he gets upset every time I speak with him.” I try to avoid what’s going on [at Yorkshire], but I contact him as a buddy to see how he’s doing since I know he’s had suicidal thoughts.
“I’ve had two close friends commit suicide in the previous 12 months, so I empathise, and I’ve been phoning him on a regular basis to see how he’s doing since this has taken a lot out of him.”
“You have to look at what Rafiq’s been through since 2017 when he initially made a complaint for bullying,” Gough said of Yorkshire, the ECB, and the PCA’s handling of the case. He subsequently had to deal with this situation for another 18 months, with denial after denial. They put together an independent panel, which, in my opinion, was not particularly impartial. Yorkshire then graded their own assignment and posted excerpts, admitting to “inappropriate behaviour” but classifying racism as “banter.” It’s just been handled badly by Yorkshire County Cricket Club, and there have been blunders from the PCA and the ECB, which has led to this,” Gough explained.
