Yorkshire: Colin Graves criticised by club after pulling out of chair bid

Former Yorkshire chairman Colin Graves subsequently chaired the England and Wales Cricket Board

Yorkshire have criticised former chair Colin Graves after he withdrew his bid to return to the role.

The club are looking for a successor to Lord Patel after he stepped down in March, with Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson currently interim chair.

Graves, chair from 2012 to 2015, said he wanted to return to help sort out the financial difficulties after the racism scandal.

Yorkshire said at "no point" had Graves made a "tangible offer" to the board.

In a statement confirming they had been notified of his withdrawal on Monday, the club said were are "disappointed" that Graves had done so "publicly", with a letter reportedly sent to Grey-Thompson published in the Yorkshire Post.

Yorkshire owe £14.9m to the Graves Trust, a major creditor of the club. Graves sits independent of the trust, which is overseen by professional trustees.

The county lost a significant number of sponsors over their handling of the Azeem Rafiq scandal, while they also had to agree compensation packages with sacked staff who won claims for unfair dismissal.

Yorkshire have admitted four amended charges from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) stemming from Rafiq's allegations, and sanctions will be discussed at a hearing on 27 June.

Potential sanctions include unlimited fine, points deductions and suspension from ECB competitions.

Yorkshire said they are "obliged to make it absolutely clear that at no point did Colin make a clearly defined, tangible offer that the board was able to consider formally, unlike other interested parties involved in the refinance process".

They added: "We have consistently outlined that the new chair would be appointed using a fair, thorough and robust process, which is ongoing.

"Colin indicated that the terms of his return as chair would require total control of the board and executive.

"This would run counter to that process, as well as the best practice governance requirements set out in the County Governance Code that were agreed by all counties in 2019."

Yorkshire said Graves' reported criticism of how the board is handling the financial problems was "unfounded" and showed a "distinct lack of understanding" of the club's position.

They added: "The short- and long-term financial wellbeing of the club remains the board's priority, and we will not be distracted by speculation which is unhelpful to our primary objective of securing the future of Yorkshire County Cricket Club and making it a welcoming club for everyone."

Patel took over in November 2021 after Roger Hutton resigned over Yorkshire's response to the Rafiq scandal.

Under Patel, Yorkshire changed their rules last year to remove the need for written approval from the trustees of the Graves Trust to appoint or remove board members after the ECB made it a key requirement in order to reinstate Headingley's right to host England matches.

Graves, who was ECB chair from 2015 to 2020, backed the reforms.