Adil Rashid confirms Azeem Rafiq’s allegations of racism on Michael Vaughan

In a big development in the Azeem Rafiq racism row, current England spinner Adil Rashid has confirmed that Michael Vaughan, the former Yorkshire and England captain indeed used the sentence, “There are too many of you lot; we need to do something about it."

Azeem had earlier alleged that Vaughan had used this term during a Yorkshire County game in 2009 when Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, the Pakistani pacer along with three players from the Muslim community were part of the Yorkshire playing XI. There is still one player who has not come forward to support Rafiq while the other two in Rana Naved and Rashid have confirmed the allegation.

"I wanted to concentrate as much as possible on my cricket and to avoid distractions to the detriment of the team but I can confirm Azeem Rafiq's recollection of Michael Vaughan's comments to a group of us Asian players,” Rashid said in a statement quoted by ESPNCricinfo.

The repercussions of this statement by Rashid could be huge in the case of Vaughan’s future career as he has already been stood down from his next Radio 5 Live programme, the Tuffers and Vaughan Show, by the BBC.

Rashid came forward with the statement as he was encouraged by the fact that a Parliamentary Committee seems to be trying to improve the situation and change can be expected from that.

“These can only be positive developments. I will of course be more than happy to support any official efforts when the time is right. For now, though, these matters are of an intensely personal nature and I will not be commenting on them further. I ask you to respect my privacy and allow me to focus on my cricket,” said the England leggie.

So far Garry Balance and Vaughan have voluntarily named themselves as being part of the investigation conducted into the allegations made by Rafiq of institutional racism at Yorkshire County Cricket Club.

More names are expected to be revealed when Rafiq, a former Yorkshire captain himself gives evidence in front of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) select committee on November 16.

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Drinking off the shoe: Watch - Australian players celebrate their first-ever T20 World Cup win

The Australian team won its first T20 World Cup title since the inauguration of the tournament in 2007 and went wild with the celebrations. So much so that Matthew Wade and Marcus Stonis, the two heroes from the semi-final victory of the Kangaroos went on to celebrate with a ‘shoey’, a popular custom in Australia, where one serves their drink inside a shoe. In a video shared by the International Cricket Council on its official Social media handles, Wade can be seen removing his shoe and putting some beverage into it and drinking it. Stoinis also drinks from the same as the rest of the team members cheer on. In another video, shared by ICC itself, Players like Adam Zampa, Nathan Ellis, Kane Richardson and Steve Smith can be seen dancing to the tunes of the famous song Freed from Desire. On Sunday, November 14, Australia defeated trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand by eight wickets as they chased down 173 with one over remaining to win the title.

Records tumble as Australia finally win T20 World Cup

Australia emerged victorious in T20 World Cup 2021 after beating New Zealand in the final in Dubai by 8 wickets. Chasing a formidable target of 173 runs in 20 overs, the Aussie side rode on some exceptional batting from David Warner and Mitchell Marsh to go over the line in the 19th over. Both Warner and Marsh struck individual half-centuries during the course. Earlier, New Zealand were able to put 172/4 in 20 overs, courtesy a brilliant batting from skipper Kane Williamson. The right-handed batsman struck a 48-ball 85 which included three maximums and 10 fours. Here we take a look at some of the stats from the tournament. * Australia lifted their first ever T20 title. They reached the finals back in 2010 but suffered a defeat against England in the title clash. For New Zealand, it was their first T20 World Cup final. * Australia pacer Mitchell Starc was struck for 60 runs in 4 overs in the final against New Zealand. He became the most expensive bowler to have ever bowled in the T20 World Cup final. * David Warner became the highest run-getter for Australia in a T20 World Cup. The left-hander amassed a total of 289 runs in the tournament and surpassed Matthew Hayden who had notched up 265 runs in the 2007 edition. * Mitchell Marsh scored the fastest fifty in a T20 World Cup final after he went past the 50-run mark in 31 balls. * New Zealand’s skipper Kane Williamson’s 85 is the joint-highest individual score in a T20 World Cup final along with Malon Samuels 85* against England that he scored in 2016. * Pakistan skipper Babar Azam scored the most runs in this T20 World Cup 2021. The right-hander struck a total of 303 runs in six matches that he played. * The 2021 edition of the T20 World Cup witnessed three hat tricks. Ireland’s Curtis Campher picked up a hat trick against The Netherlands, while Sri Lanka’s Wanindu Hasaranga achieved the feat against South Africa. Later, Proteas pacer Kagiso Rabada bagged a hat trick against England. Before this edition of the T20 World Cup, only Brett Lee had scalped a hat trick back in 2007 against Bangladesh. * Sri Lanka’s Wanindu Hasaranga picked up the highest wickets in the competition. The spinner scalped a total of 16 wickets in 8 matches.

T20 World Cup | Final | 'Hard to process this' says coach Langer after global glory for Australia

The Australian coach Justin Langer, who had to bear it all after his team failed continuously in the past year, was ecstatic to have won his first major trophy with the bunch of players. Appointed the coach in 2018, Langer was part of the infamous sandpaper gate scandal that pushed Australian cricket way back. “It's hard to process into words,” said the 51-year-old when asked about his feelings after the global glory that his team achieved by beating the trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand in the final of the T20 World Cup 2021. “This is such a special group of people. When we all got back together it was great. It is a very special moment for everyone, almost like a reunion. We knew how much talent we had,” Langer said trying to impress upon the point that when his team failed, it was mostly because it didn’t have the services of its top players. Talking about the players who shone in this World Cup, the former Australia Test opener lauded Micthell Marsh, who was the Player of the Match in the final, for grabbing the opportunity when he got one. “Leading into the World Cup in the series against West Indies and Bangladesh, there were a few missing pieces and Mitchell Marsh took one of those pieces. We embraced it and had fun,” Langer said. Praising the bowlers, the left-handed batter and one of the stern taskmasters said that he was impressed by the way Adam Zampa and Josh Hazlewood performed. “Zamps (Adam Zampa) puts a smile on my face. He is different, a bit hippy, but so so competitive. We have seen leg spinners having an impact in this format. Hazlewood had some back issues in the last World Cup but has come back strong,” he said.

T20 World Cup | Final: David Warner emerges from poor form with Player of the Tournament award

David Warner has been awarded the Player of the Tournament award for his phenomenal run of form with the bat at the top of the order for Australia. He was in horrible form coming into the tournament and there were question marks over his place in the side but the skipper Aaron Finch and Justin Lnager continued to have faith in him. He started off the tournament poorly but once he found some form in the game against Sri Lanka, he never looked back and brought his vintage best to provide Australia brilliant start one after another. He finished with 289 runs from seven games at a phenomenal strike rate of 147.44. Discussing his performance in the tournament, Warner said that he understood the need to go back to basics and tried some improvised training in the nets to get out of the rut. “Always felt really well. Didn't get much time in the middle in the two practice matches obviously. But for me, it was about going back to basics. Going to hard, synthetic wickets and trying to hit some balls,” Warner said in the post-match presentation. Emphasizing the magnanimity of the occasion, Warner rated the T20 World Cup win on par with the ODI World Cup win in the year 2015. He was also not forgetful of the bad experience he and Australia had to deal with in their last appearance at the final of the T20 World Cup in 2010. He applauded his teammates and whole support staff to make great efforts and make Australia a world-beating side in the T20 World Cup. “Definitely up there with 2015. Being part of the World Cup final against England a decade ago definitely hurt,” he said. “These guys are a great bunch of guys. Great support staff, great team, great support back home. Just wanted to put on a great spectacle for everyone. Bit of nerves around with a good score on the board. Just great to see the guys deliver,” Warner signed off.