Former Yorkshire CCC captain and coach Andrew Gale gets new role Down Under

It comes almost two years after he was sacked by the club amid a mass cull of the coaching and backroom staff led by former chairman Lord Kamlesh Patel.

Gale was among those who agreed compensation with the county after Yorkshire admitted that dismissals were “procedurally unfair”.

The 39-year-old announced his new role on LinkedIn, saying: “I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as Male High Performance Pathway Head Coach at Cricket Tasmania.”

Former Yorkshire players and officials were among those who rushed to the social media platform to congratulate him.

Ajmal Shahzad, the former Yorkshire and England pace bowler, who told England and Wales Cricket Board investigators that there was no culture of racism at Yorkshire, said: “Congrats and good luck G.”

Jack Brooks, another former Yorkshire pace bowler, wrote: “Congrats & good luck pal!”

Colin Graves, the former Yorkshire chairman, said: “Galey well done and thoroughly deserved - you will do a great job!! Colin G.”

And Steve Denison, another former chairman, posted: “Go well Galey, you’re a star!”

Since his departure from Yorkshire, Gale, a twice former County Championship-winning captain, had set up a joinery firm.

He categorically denied the racism allegations made by Rafiq, whom he helped to bring back to Yorkshire in 2016 after the spinner left two years earlier due to the ‘yips’.

In a statement issued last summer, Gale said: "For the avoidance of any doubt, I deny each and every allegation that Azeem raised with YCCC and then via the ECB suggesting that I have used racist language and bullied Azeem.

"I was originally stunned but I am now angry that he has raised such allegations against me.

"I will always be unhappy with how my career ended but I refuse to have my life defined by unsubstantiated allegations by an embittered former colleague and by a YCCC/ECB witch-hunt."

In the wake of Rafiq’s claims, Gale was given a four-week suspension from coaching (to take effect if he returns to ECB-regulated cricket as a coach) and fined £6,000.

Several of the sacked 16 Yorkshire staff are now back in cricket, including Kunwar Bansil, the British-Asian former lead physiotherapist, who now works at Nottinghamshire.

Bansil said that he was “never aware of any racism or complaints of racism” at Yorkshire and described the sackings as “unfair, disproportionate and completely immoral”.