The ECB ‘wasted’ £60,000 on mock interrogation session focused on Azeem Rafiq’s racism allegations
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EXCLUSIVE: The ECB ‘wasted’ £60,000 on a mock interrogation session targeting Azeem Rafiq’s accusations of racism ahead of the DCMS’ questioning, despite the organization’s approval of job cuts
- ECB spent £60,000 to prepare for parliamentary hearing on racism
- Board members, including former Chief Tom Harrison, practiced questions
- ECB staff rehearsed responses to Azeem Rafiq’s accusations of racism
- The board has spent the huge amount despite cutting 62 jobs due to Covid-19
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The ECB spent £60,000 on practice interrogation sessions in preparation for their parliamentary car accident select committee hearing on Azeem Rafiq’s racism allegations, Sportsmail can reveal.
The splurge came just seven weeks after the announcement of 62 layoffs last winter to ‘secure the long-term future of cricket’ in light of Covid – and there are further job cuts by the ECB ahead of this Christmas, it is understood .
Rafiq opened up at a Digital, Culture, Media and Sport hearing last November that he was called a ‘P**i’ and was racially abused in Yorkshire for eight years.
Azeem Rafiq broke his silence on racism he suffered while playing cricket for Yorkshire
The ECB board’s payment to a law firm would have been for holding a mock hearing, in which then chief executive Tom Harrison and colleagues practiced answering questions expected to mirror those of DCMS chief Julian Knight MP.
It didn’t go according to plan. Harrison had planned to give a pre-rehearsed speech during the hearing, hoping to avoid questions—a tactical thought planned in the sessions—but Knight prevented him from doing so.
Knight told Sportsmail: “It’s unbelievable that so much money has to be spent on such preparation. Frankly, it didn’t do them much good – they should ask for a refund.’
Sportsmail understands that the ECB has also spent more than £1 million on racism research in the past 12 months. That amount could exceed £1.5 million by the end of the year, with ‘no end in sight’ in some cases.
Ex-ECB CEO Tom Harrison wanted to practice facing questions he’d likely face
At least £500,000 is believed to have been spent on a team of lawyers and the Cricket Discipline Commission in connection with the Rafiq investigation.
The investigation has proved costly, with many of the seven ex-Yorkshire employees indicted hiring high-profile legal teams to fight the charges, dragging the case even further.
The investigation is expected to run well into the new year.
Cindy Butts’ Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket report, due out this year, has also been expensive, with the five commissioners employed collectively paid around £10,000 a day.
There are also concerns within the organization about the scale of the impending layoffs, which Sportsmail understands are inevitable before the end of the year at a time of real financial constraints.
Last winter, the ECB cut 62 jobs due to the impact of Covid-19 on finances.
Julian Knight, chair of the DCMS, questioned ECB staff about Rafiq’s racism claims
Their emergency financial reserves have since dwindled from £75m to around £22m and in a recent statement, interim chairman Martin Darlow admitted inflationary pressures and the cost of living could have a ‘significant’ effect on the game’s finances.
The £2.2 million annual £2.2 million received from Sport England for the base match, previously flagged by MPs as needing to be cut in light of the Rafiq affair, could also be at risk again.
An ECB spokesman said: ‘Where problems need to be investigated, we make no apologies for doing this thoroughly and it costs money.
“It’s also good to invest in the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket so that we can determine what steps we need to take to remove the barriers for people getting involved in our sport.”