Yorkshire’s board has agreed to a proposal from a consortium led by Colin Graves which is ready to see the previous chairman make a controversial return to the membership.
In an announcement issued by the membership on Wednesday night, Yorkshire mentioned: “The board of Yorkshire County Cricket Membership has tonight agreed to advocate the mortgage settlement from Mr Colin Graves.
“The club will be sending a notice to members tomorrow (Thursday) ahead of an EGM which will outline the details of the offer as well as the resolutions and rule changes that are required to be ratified by members at the EGM.”
The financially stricken membership are in determined want of money to thrust back the specter of administration.
The 75-year-old’s first stint within the function coated a part of the interval the place Yorkshire have been fined £400,000 for failing to handle the systemic use of racist or discriminatory language.
Graves denies data of racist behaviour throughout his preliminary spell as chair, which got here earlier than he took on an identical function on the England and Wales Cricket Board between 2015 and 2020.
The ECB criticised Graves final yr after he described incidents of racism at Yorkshire as “banter”.
Former spin bowler Azeem Rafiq gave harrowing testimony to MPs in November 2021 in regards to the abuse he suffered throughout two spells on the membership between 2008 and 2018.
Graves’ anticipated return as Yorkshire chairman was condemned by Rafiq and charity Sporting Equals earlier this week, with the latter writing an open letter to the ECB and sports activities minister Stuart Andrew in addition to county cricket golf equipment and their sponsors expressing their dismay.
Yorkshire say Graves’ potential reinstatement comes after a “rigorous process” that concerned assembly with over 350 events as they search the funding wanted to maintain the membership afloat.
Nonetheless, Sporting Equals, which promotes ethnic variety throughout sport, feels Graves’ reappointment would “make a mockery” of victims of racism and “undermine the progress made” inside cricket.
The charity additionally mentioned it could “be a rejection of the ICEC Report’s thorough investigation and well considered conclusions”, referring to the Impartial Fee for Fairness in Cricket’s findings that racism, sexism, classism and elitism have been “widespread” in English and Welsh cricket.
Rafiq, writing within the Observer, mentioned Graves’ potential return “exposes a failing game” and that “nothing has changed”.
“Sponsors found their moral compass before, and they need to find it again, because any organisation supporting this is complicit in it,” wrote Rafiq.
“There is still time for them to act, to leave now and stop Yorkshire stepping back in time and undoing what progress they have made in the past three years.”
Clive Efford MP, a member of the tradition, media and sport committee, mentioned final week that Graves’ return can be “a disaster for cricket”.
Graves gave Yorkshire a multi-million-pound mortgage in 2002, of which some £14.9m continues to be owed to the Graves Household Belief.