It was soggy at Headingley, the rain passing in damp sheets, the sky a permanent frown. When play eventually started at a quarter past two on Tuesday, the floodlights shone so brightly in the gloom that the pitch looked fluorescent.
As ever in Championship cricket, a handful of loyal supporters had been in situ from the start of play, scattered, sometimes in pairs, more often singularly, with just the right spacing of seats between the nearest human contact.
Two hundred miles away, at the International Arbitration Centre, 190 Fleet Street, London, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) was asking the Cricket Discipline Commission to apply sanctions on Yorkshire for their handling of the Azeem Rafiq scandal: a £500,00 fine, £350,000 of it suspended, and points deductions in all three men’s competitions. In the T20 Blast, this could lead to Yorkshire qualifying for Finals day and winning the competition before sanctions have been applied.
The Yorkshire board issued a twitchy statement in response. “We are disappointed and concerned that the ECB’s sanctions recommendation has the potential to hinder the good work that has been enacted at Yorkshire over the past 18 months.
“In reaching its decision, we hope the panel takes into account our acceptance of the charges, the robust work we have undertaken to build the foundations for a Club which is truly inclusive and welcoming to all, and YCCC’s current financial position.”
Martin and Ian, both from Sheffield, who had turned up in the gloom to see if Yorkshire could dismiss Gloucestershire quickly and enforce the follow-on, were phlegmatic about the potential punishment.
“I think two things, if we can get it out of the way this season and have a clean slate next season, then I’m happy enough with that,” says Martin. “The other thing I’d like to bring up is that the investigation into Essex hasn’t had near the same media interest as Yorkshire. Could there be something of a north‑south divide?”
“A lot of Yorkshire fans have brushed things under the carpet and deny things have happened,” says Ian. “I’ve been watching for 40 years, I’ve heard racist abuse hurled at players. The affair hasn’t been well handled but then we specialise in not handling things well.”
“In five years time, the club could come out of this much stronger, with a different mindset,” says Martin. “If we survive,” adds Ian.
With that, they return to watching Gloucestershire’s Price brothers tuck into the new ball, the water dripping under the cavernous concrete concourse.
