ECB recommends fines and bans for ex-Yorkshire players found to have used racist language

Gary Ballance played 23 Tests for England and one for Zimbabwe

Former England batter Gary Ballance should be fined £8,000 and banned for eight weeks for using racist language at Yorkshire, according to the England and Wales Cricket Board.

Ballance is one of six former Yorkshire players found to have use racist slurs at the club by the Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC) panel in March.

The charges stemmed from claims made by former Yorkshire player Azeem Rafiq.

Ballance, who retired earlier this month, admitted the charge against him.

The ECB also recommended a combination of fines, suspensions, reprimands and education courses for former England bowlers Tim Bresnan and Matthew Hoggard, former Yorkshire captain and coach Andrew Gale, former Scotland bowler John Blain and former Yorkshire all-rounder Richard Pyrah.

All five did not appear before the independent CDC panel in March after withdrawing from the process and also did not provide written submissions for this hearing in London on Wednesday.

CDC panel chair Tim O'Gorman said a decision on sanctions for the six former players will not be made for "several weeks".

Former England captain Michael Vaughan was cleared "on the balance of probabilities" by the panel of using racist language towards Rafiq.

Sanctions against Yorkshire, who admitted four amended charges, will be discussed at a hearing in late June.

The ECB said Ballance's fine should be reduced from £12,500 and the suspension reduced from 10 weeks because he admitted guilt and apologised to Rafiq.

It said Ballance, 33, should also go on an education course if he intends to return to cricket in a playing or coaching capacity and be reprimanded.

Ballance's lawyer Craig Harris said the financial penalty should be reduced because being involved in the proceedings led to the end of Ballance's Yorkshire career, the loss of a sponsorship contract and him not being considered for England.

Ballance was released by Yorkshire at his request in December and switched to play for his native Zimbabwe, initially signing a two-year deal, before announcing his retirement four months later.

In 2020, he took a break from cricket to manage "some heightened feelings of anxiety and stress" and missed much of the 2022 season to focus on his mental health after admitting he was responsible for some of the allegations made by Rafiq.

ECB lawyer Jane Mulcahy KC said: "We understand there has been a significant impact on Mr Ballance's mental health."

Harris said Ballance "accepted he ought to have known better" but added that the rules were "breached by someone living and playing within a culture in which the use of such language had become normalised".

Ballance did not take part in the proceedings in March after admitting his charge.

The ECB said Hoggard should be handed a £7,500 fine - reduced from £9,000 because he admitted part of the charge against him - and a reprimand. It also issued a "strong recommendation" he undertake an education course at his own expense, particularly if he intends to return to cricket.

The panel found that 2005 Ashes winner Hoggard, who denied racist intent to his language, had used two racist slurs but found an allegation he used the term "you lot" about Asian players not proved.

The ECB recommended Bresnan and Blain both be given a £5,000 fine, be reprimanded and attend an education course at their own expense, especially if they intend to return to cricket.

Bresnan, who denied all the allegations, was found to have used a racial slur towards Rafiq's sister and other Asian women. Allegations he used the terms "brothers" and "you lot" to specifically refer to Asian players were not proved.

Blain was found to have used a racist phrase to describe Asian individuals during his time as a Yorkshire coach, which he denied.

In a statement on Wednesday, Blain called the outcome of the proceedings a "depressingly predictable and wholly unjust decision" as he also launched a crowdfunding page in a bid to clear his name through legal action.

He added: "Despite being entirely innocent of these allegations, I was advised by my lawyers to withdraw from the inadequate ECB process, due to its many fundamental flaws.

"The evidence given was one-sided, partial and in some areas, simply untrue - I have never used such language. This is supported by many independent witnesses, many of whom were team-mates."

The ECB recommended Gale be given a £7,500 fine, a reprimand and a four-week suspension if he were to return to coaching ECB-regulated cricket. It also said he should do an education course at his own expense if he returned to cricket.

Gale was found to have used two racist slurs towards Rafiq throughout his time at the club, as well as using one of these racist terms towards Mosun Hussain, a Yorkshire academy player, in 2013. He denied the allegations.

Pyrah's recommended fine is £4,000. Mulcahy said the ECB also recommended a two-week suspension for Pyrah but admitted she did not know if he was still coaching.

He was found to have used a racial slur towards Rafiq's sister, which he denied, while an allegation he used the term "you lot" towards groups of Asian players was not proved.

The ECB said all five players would have been suspended if they were still playing. Bresnan retired in January 2022, Gale in 2016, Pyrah in 2015, Hoggard in 2013 and Blain's last top-level match was in 2010.