Yorkshire CCC racism scandal: Michael Vaughan claims 'I've never said anything racist to anybody' after second player challenges his account

Mr Vaughan revealed in his Daily Telegraph column on Thursday that he had been implicated in a report into Azeem Rafiq’s allegations of institutional racism at the county, but categorically denied telling a group of team-mates “there’s too many of you lot, we need to do something about it”.

This morning, former Yorkshire all-rounder and ex-Pakistan international Rana Naved-ul-Hasan is reported to have said he had heard the remarks.

A new report from ESPNCricinfo says ex-Pakistan international Rana, who played for the White Rose as an overseas player in 2008 and 2009, has confirmed he heard the comments. The report also states that the 43-year-old is prepared to give evidence on the matter to any interested inquiry.

Mr Vaughan, speaking at his home in Cheshire on Friday morning, doubled down on his denial of using racist language to team-mates.

“I’ve done my piece last night and I stand by what I say. I know that in my life, I’ve never said anything racist to anybody. So, that’s what I stand by,” he told the PA news agency.

He also confirmed he had spoken to the BBC and still worked for them.

“Yes. I haven’t had any meetings with them. Yes, I am still working for them,” he added.

His comments come after a tweet from 2010 from Mr Vaughan came to light. It read: "Not many English people live in London.. I need to learn a new language.."

In his Telegraph column, Mr Vaughan said that he had been informed about the allegation after agreeing to give evidence to a panel investigating Mr Rafiq's claims.

"The night before I was due to give evidence, out of the blue, I was hit with the news that Rafiq was alleging that in 2009, when I was still a player and before a Yorkshire match against Nottinghamshire, I had said to Rafiq and two other Asian players as we walked onto the field together that there are “too many of you lot, we need to do something about it”.

"This hit me very hard. It was like being struck over the head with a brick. I have been involved in cricket for 30 years and never once been accused of any remotely similar incident or disciplinary offence as a player or commentator. That the allegation came completely out of the blue and more than a decade after it was alleged to have happened made it all the more difficult to process.

"I completely and categorically deny that I ever said those words. I responded to the panel by saying I was gobsmacked and that my professional legal advice was that I could not appear before a panel having had just a few hours’ notice of such serious claims made against me."

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