Yorkshire face 'huge financial crisis' if ban on hosting England games remains - Lord Patel

Yorkshire chairman Lord Patel says he is "very confident" the club's ban from hosting England games will be lifted by this summer and warns it will be a "huge financial crisis" if it is not.

Headingley lost its international status in November over the club's handling of racism allegations made by former player Azeem Rafiq.

Rafiq has said the ban should be lifted for the progress made under Lord Patel.

"Regaining international status is absolutely crucial," said Lord Patel.

"Everything rests on it in terms of our future."

Lord Patel took over as chairman in November after Roger Hutton resigned amid widespread criticism of Yorkshire's handling of Rafiq's case.

Rafiq told a Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) select committee that racist language was "constantly" used during his time at Yorkshire and English cricket was "institutionally racist".

Speaking to BBC sports editor Dan Roan, Lord Patel said his main focus, besides dealing with issues raised by Rafiq, was "making sure international matches are returned here as soon as possible".

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has asked Yorkshire to meet certain conditions by early spring.

"Myself and a number of people here are working 24/7 to meet the criteria we've been set and I'm very confident we will meet it and I hope way beyond that as well," said Lord Patel.

"It was right for the ECB to sanction us and we need to prove to everybody that we're delivering, we're changing and we will get there."

Headingley was due to host England's third Test against New Zealand on 23 June and their third one-day international against South Africa on 24 July.

Lord Patel said there was "no other option" than to be "more than hopeful" and be "very confident" that Headingley would regain the right to host those games.

He said if they failed to overturn the suspension, "hundreds of thousands of people who love cricket" would be "deprived" of the chance to watch England.

He added: "There is no question it would be a huge financial crisis."

An ECB investigation into allegations made by Rafiq and others, and Yorkshire's handling of the case, is ongoing.

However, a decision on this summer's major matches will be made before the investigation is concluded in order to aid logistics and give clarity to ticket-holders.

Lord Patel said he was "heartened" to see Rafiq call for the ban to be lifted and that the former player was "very clear" about the changes he wanted to see.

Yorkshire expecting 'painful' report into Rafiq case

The DCMS report into Rafiq's case is set to be released on Friday and Lord Patel said he anticipates it will be "painful" for the club.

"If it wasn't I'd be astonished because what happened here was unforgivable and unacceptable," he said.

"I'm looking forward. I'm very hopeful about where we are now."

Lord Patel said he was "physically tired" but also "really energised" because he did not believe the club would have "come so far" in his two months as chairman.

"We've had incredible change. I've taken the club, turned it upside down and given it a good shake - there's been no stone left unturned," he said.

In December, 16 members of staff, including director of cricket Martyn Moxon and first-team coach Andrew Gale, were sacked.

Former Yorkshire and England pace bowler Darren Gough has been appointed director of cricket until the end of the 2022 season, while former England bowlers Ryan Sidebottom and Steve Harmison have joined the coaching staff on an interim basis.

Lord Patel said it was "very difficult on a human level" to have such a big overhaul of staff but that he "fundamentally believes it was the right decision".

"We needed to move forward and create a culture that was open, that was transparent, that people could come forward and feel comfortable in," he said.

He added some of the playing staff had been understandably "anxious" about such a "seismic change" but by engaging with them he felt he had helped people "move forward" and there was a "sense of excitement" about the future.

Sidebottom has apologised for a "poor choice of words" when saying Yorkshire should "try and forget about" the racism scandal in an interview on Sky Sports.

"We're going to have mis-steps on the way - this is not going to be perfect," said Lord Patel.

"But the fact he apologised, he understood, he learned, he spoke to Azeem - that's what's important now, it's got to be a learning environment and culture."

Lord Patel added that Gough showed a "real willingness" in saying he had been through the Yorkshire system but that it "wasn't right and things need to change".

"The players have taken to him as well and so have members of the public, sponsors - it's been really good," he said.

Lord Patel said Yorkshire's whistleblower hotline, set up in the wake of Rafiq's testimony, had received 50 responses that were being independently investigated.

He added that the ECB's own hotline had received 4,000 complaints.

"Clearly this is not just a Yorkshire problem, this is a cricket-wide problem," he said.

"Azeem Rafiqs only come once in a lifetime and we have to use that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to really make a difference."