Azeem Rafiq: England cricket’s racism trial is set to be held in public this month

English cricket’s racism trial is set to be held in public this month with former England captain Michael Vaughan pitted against current leg spinner Adil Rashid in the witness box following a sensational ruling on Wednesday. 

Sportsmail has learned that the ECB’s Cricket Discipline Commission [CDC] informed all parties on Wednesday that the trial of seven ex-Yorkshire players charged with using racist language towards Azeem Rafiq, which also includes former England stars Matthew Hoggard, Tim Bresnan and Gary Ballance, will be an open hearing with a scheduled start date of November 28.

The ECB had argued against breaking convention by having the hearing in public on the grounds that much of the evidence they have collected has been gained on the basis of it taking place in private and may be inadmissible, but the CDC have ruled against them and in favour of Azeem Rafiq, who has pushed for an open hearing throughout. 

A preliminary hearing chaired by former Derbyshire bowler Tim O’Gorman was held a fortnight ago, which was dominated by legal arguments over whether the full hearing should be public, with the three-person CDC panel confirming their decision on Wednesday.

Rashid has emerged as a key witness in the ECB’s case against Vaughan in particular, as after staying silent for almost a year following Rafiq’s initial allegations the England leg spinner released a statement last November backing claims that the Ashes-winning hero used racist language against Rafiq before a county match in 2009. 

The 34-year-old has been in the first-team at Headingley since 2006 so may also be called in the cases against the other ex-Yorkshire players, Hoggard, Bresnan, Ballance, Richard Pyrah and John Blain. 

Former Yorkshire captain and coach Andrew Gale is refusing to take part in the ECB’s disciplinary process as he is no longer involved in cricket after being sacked last year.

Vaughan has strongly denied the allegations, and his legal team are expected to demand that Rashid makes a personal appearance at the hearing, which should be possible despite his international commitments. 

Following the Twenty20 World Cup which concludes in Melbourne on November 13 England have three further ODIs games against Australia, but Rashid is not in the Test squad touring Pakistan in December.

In his statement released the day before Rafiq’s devastating testimony before a Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport select committee last November Rashid backed his former Yorkshire team-mate’s claims that Vaughan had said, ‘too many of you lot, we need to do something about it’ to a group of Asian players. 

He did not provide any further details of the incident however, which it is alleged occurred before a domestic T20 game between Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire, and has not addressed the matter publicly in the intervening 12 months.

‘I wanted to concentrate as much as possible on my cricket and to avoid distractions to the detriment of the team, but I can confirm Azeem Rafiq’s recollection of Michael Vaughan’s comments to a group of us Asian players,’ Rashid’s statement read.

The ECB declined to comment.