Richard Pyrah returns to Yorkshire as head coach of women’s team after racism scandal | Cricket News

Richard Pyrah has returned to Yorkshire as head coach of the senior women’s team, almost 18 months after being found guilty of racist comments towards an Asian woman.

Pyrah was fined £2,500 and suspended from coaching for two weeks by the Cricket Discipline Commission after using discriminatory language when speaking about former teammate Azeem Rafiq’s sister Amna in his presence in 2014 and/or 2018.

The 41-year-old was among 16 staff sacked by Yorkshire in December 2021 following the fallout from allegations of institutional racism made by Azeem Rafiq within the club.

The following year, the Headingley team reached an agreement with Pyrah, after acknowledging that his dismissal had been “procedurally unfair”.

Pyrah will begin her new role at Yorkshire in September, with the county set to become a Tier 2 women’s team in 2025 under a revamped structure, before reaching Tier 1 status from 2026.

The former all-rounder played for Yorkshire for over 10 years and then took on the roles of men’s bowling coach and head coach of Yorkshire’s first women’s Super League T20 team after retiring in 2015.

Pyrah told Yorkshire’s official website: “It’s an incredible honour for me to be given the opportunity to lead the Yorkshire Women’s team and it’s the proudest moment of my career.

“This is an exciting time to be involved in women’s cricket, following the restructuring of the women’s professional game by the ECB.

“Joining Yorkshire, one of the greatest cricket clubs in the world, is a dream for any coach. That’s why I’m so excited about this opportunity. I will give my full commitment to this team.”

Graves: Pyrah ‘stands out after a thorough and robust process’

Yorkshire Chairman Colin Graves said: “We are delighted that Richard has agreed to become our women’s team manager and we are very pleased to welcome him back to Yorkshire.

“After a thorough and rigorous process, Richard stood out from an incredible field of candidates.

“Throughout the process it has been clear that Richard is the right person to lead Yorkshire into the club’s next chapter and take our women’s professional team to the highest level.”

Graves had previously described the racist incidents in Yorkshire as “jokes”, but later apologised, saying he “deeply regrets” his words.

The 76-year-old’s initial term as chairman included part of the period in which Yorkshire was fined £400,000 for failing to address the systematic use of racist or discriminatory language.

Vscek News contacted Yorkshire for further comment.

Winfield-Hill plans to stay in Yorkshire

England batsman Lauren Winfield-Hill has said she intends to sign for her home county of Yorkshire, despite the club not being awarded Tier 1 status until 2026, although she could seek a loan next year to play top-level cricket.

The 33-year-old: “My intention is to stay and commit to Yorkshire. I haven’t officially signed a contract yet, but that’s more or less what I’m trying to do.

“What that means with loans or opportunities to play Grade 1 cricket elsewhere, we’ll explore that. We’re working on that now. If it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen.

“I’m pretty loyal and people and place are pretty important to me and I’ve always been pretty keen to finish where I started. It’s where my friends and family can come and watch me and those things mean a lot.

“As soon as Yorkshire [being in Tier 2] it was reduced to one year, which made the decision a little easier. Two years and maybe it would have been a little different.

“I really wouldn’t want to go a year without playing top-level cricket, but I don’t know what that means at the moment.

“We’re trying to get the best of both worlds. Being there for Yorkshire puts us in a position to compete in Tier 1, but also from an individual point of view it’s important that I play at the highest level possible.”