But BT, which had planned to take Fox’s commentary feed due to coronavirus and travel restrictions, subsequently announced: “The recent report presented to UK Parliament uncovering institutional racism within cricket and specifically Yorkshire County Cricket Club is extremely disappointing and a concern for all. Given these recent events we are reviewing and discussing our commentary plans with Cricket Australia.”
Vaughan’s revelation he had been among those accused by Rafiq initially saw him stood down by the BBC from Radio 5 Live’s Tuffers and Vaughan show to “maintain the impartiality of the programme” during a planned discussion on the racism scandal on November 8.
Executives subsequently ruled the show fronted by Vaughan and Phil Tufnell should not air at all and the Telegraph has been told it will not do so during the Ashes.
The BBC declined to comment on Vaughan’s longer-term future, which could rest on the findings of an inquiry commissioned by the England & Wales Cricket Board into Rafiq’s claims.
Both organisations were last night under pressure not to leave Vaughan “in limbo” over the allegations facing him.
David Gower, the former England captain who fronted Sky Sports’ cricket coverage for many years, told the Telegraph: “Surely, it is not beyond the wit of the BBC and Michael Vaughan to discover what he did or didn’t say.
“I’m not a believer in playing with people’s careers when someone like Michael, whose reputation in the media is well established, now finds himself in limbo on the strength of an allegation.”
Monty Panesar, Vaughan’s former England team-mate who has previously expressed shock at the claims, said: “It’s really important that there’s some kind of clarity in all this. The cricketers who are coming out with the allegations, they can affect people’s livelihoods.”
Clive Efford MP, the former shadow sports minister and member of the Digital, Culture, Media & Sport select committee that heard Rafiq’s testimony, agreed “livelihoods” and “professional integrity” were at stake.
He added: “The ECB and the BBC, whoever’s investigating, need to make sure that they complete those investigations as quickly as possible.”
Scotland were also dragged into the scandal after Majid Haq, the country’s all-time leading wicket-taker, accused Cricket Scotland of being “institutionally racist”.
Haq and former team-mate Qasim Sheikh demanded an independent inquiry into allegations they had been treated differently to their white team-mates. Cricket Scotland vowed to investigate the claims.
Meanwhile, one of Essex’s principal sponsors, Seetec, has suspended its ties with the club over the racism allegations to have engulfed them.
