Yorkshire can 'set example' after Azeem Rafiq racism scandal, says Darren Gough

Darren GoughGetty Images

Darren Gough retired from playing in 2008

Yorkshire interim director of cricket Darren Gough said the club has a "once-in-a-generation chance" to become a "leading light" in the English game.

Gough was appointed in place of Martyn Moxon until the end of the 2022 season last December.

Moxon was one of 16 people to leave the club after a report found former player Azeem Rafiq was a victim of "racial harassment and bullying".

Gough has told the BBC that Yorkshire can "set an example".

"To do this, I think is the biggest challenge," former Yorkshire and England bowler Gough told BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra.

"Taking over when I have and under the circumstances. I'm doing this because I love it.

"The game, and sport in general, is under the spotlight. This is a once-in-a-generation chance to shape something that can be a leading light for every other county to follow."

Lord Patel became Yorkshire's chairman after Roger Hutton resigned last November during widespread criticism of how the club handled the Rafiq case, and Gough says the club have "the right people for the job".

"The people we have got in place are there because they 100% deserve that opportunity to have that job," added Gough. "They are the right people for the job, for the right reasons and they've been the best in the interview process.

"One of the things I've always said about cricket - and I can say this from when I've been out of the game - is that it's a bit too matey.

"You look around at the county system at other clubs and you look at people who are in certain jobs at certain clubs and they are in that job probably for the wrong reason.

"They're not in there because they are the right person for the job. We have got that opportunity now - because of what the club has been through - to set that example."

Gough made his debut for Yorkshire in 1989 and was part of the squad which won the 2001 County Championship - the club's first victory in 33 years.

He left to join Essex in 2004 before returning to Yorkshire as captain in 2007.

Gough said he has "empathy" for some of the club's employees that lost their jobs, but added "we have all been educated over the last 12 months".

"It was difficult for me," said Gough. "I knew all the people that lost their jobs and I have huge empathy for them because some of them are close friends.

"The players have learnt a lot, but they've still got a lot of questions, as you would expect," he said. "I've got a lot of questions and I'm learning every day.

"But it's important we all go in the same direction together and we all try to make cricket more understanding of what it's been through, especially this last few years.

"There's no hiding from it. I was shell-shocked when I took over and I saw the way the players were. I've never seen a team like that.

"Their friends had lost their jobs. They were upset, of course. I totally understand that and they've still got questions they want answering. It will all come out as we move along.

"They've just got to focus on what they can. We've given them the best opportunity to be able to play cricket."

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