Former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan is set to return to the BBC’s cricket coverage after being cleared of making a racist remark earlier this year. The allegations against Vaughan involved accusations of using racist or discriminatory language towards a group of Asian players during his time with Yorkshire in 2009.
However, a Cricket Discipline Commission panel conducted in March concluded that the charge against Vaughan was not proven. In light of this, the BBC has confirmed that Vaughan will be a guest on their Today at the Test highlights programme, starting with England’s match against Ireland at Lord’s on June 1.
Additionally, Vaughan will serve as a summarizer on the Test Match Special radio programme throughout the season, including the highly anticipated Ashes series between England and Australia.
The allegations against Vaughan specifically pertained to an incident where he was accused of referring to a group of Yorkshire players, including Azeem Rafiq, who is of Asian ethnicity, as “you lot” before a T20 match against Nottinghamshire. The Cricket Discipline Commission panel’s findings, released on March 31, highlighted significant inconsistencies in the evidence provided by key witnesses, namely Rafiq and Adil Rashid, regarding the exact wording of Vaughan’s alleged comment.
Vaughan expressed his relief and emotions following the clearance, stating, “I just burst out crying… It was just the pure relief when your lawyer says you’re cleared. There are people who wanted to see the back of me in cricket.”
With the cloud of the allegations lifted, Vaughan is looking forward to making a comeback to the BBC and providing insights and analysis to cricket fans across the nation.
