David Willey launches stinging attack on Yorkshire CCC over shock exit

DAVID WILLEY has accused Yorkshire of spreading false information about his decision to quit the club and claimed that it is more concerned with trying to repair its reputation in the wake of the racism crisis than it is about cricket or the welfare of its players.

Hours after the club issued a statement saying that Willey will be leaving at the end of the season to rejoin his former club Northants, because Yorkshire were unable to match the offer of a contract that will run for four years, Willey hit back by launching a scathing and searingly candid attack against the club’s hierarchy.

In the strongest sign yet of the simmering unrest in the Yorkshire dressing room, with the players furious at having been implicated in the crisis by association or otherwise and by the mass sacking of coaches/backroom staff they felt did nothing wrong, Willey laid bare his grievances and stuck up for his team-mates.

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Writing on Instagram, the club’s Twenty20 captain said: “I have loved my life in Yorkshire. I have planted my roots and raised our young family here. Unfortunately, the circumstances surrounding the recent events at the club have made my work environment unsettling.

HEADING OUT: Yorkshire's David Willey is set to return to Northamptonshire at the end of this season. Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.comHEADING OUT: Yorkshire's David Willey is set to return to Northamptonshire at the end of this season. Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com
HEADING OUT: Yorkshire's David Willey is set to return to Northamptonshire at the end of this season. Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com

“There are some great lads and fantastic players at Yorkshire, and I hope the complications at the club will not take priority and overshadow their talents.

“The cricket and the current players seem to be secondary at the moment to repairing the club’s reputation. It certainly felt that way for me over the past 12 months. I play cricket because I love the game.

“I just want to play somewhere where cricket is the focus and where I feel valued on and off the field.”

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Earlier, Darren Gough, the Yorkshire interim managing director of cricket, the man tasked with clearing up the chaos after the club was practically decimated by last year’s events, said that Yorkshire wanted to hang on to the talented 32-year-old all-rounder.

David Willey has been Yorkshire Vikings T20 captain.  Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.comDavid Willey has been Yorkshire Vikings T20 captain.  Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com
David Willey has been Yorkshire Vikings T20 captain. Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com

“The club was keen to keep Dave at Headingley but unfortunately was unable to match Northants’ offer,” said Gough.

“We proactively engaged with Dave on his return from the IPL (Indian Premier League) at the end of May but were not able to make an offer until our new board was in place.

“Since our first cricket strategy meeting with the new board, we have begun negotiations on a number of contracts with players and look forward to making some exciting announcements in the coming weeks.

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“Everyone at Yorkshire would like to thank Dave for his time at the club and wish him all the very best for the future.”

However, Willey countered: “The comments made by Yorkshire around my contract discussions with the club are inaccurate.”

And, in this message to the club’s supporters and all who have assisted him, he added: “I’d like to thank the players and staff who have helped me during my time at Yorkshire. Also, thank you to the fantastic support of Yorkshire fans.

“I’d love to say farewell by winning the T20 for the first time at the club.”

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Willey is currently in Holland for the three-match one-day international series that starts tomorrow. He is due to return, ironically enough, for the T20 game against Northants at Wantage Road a week tomorrow.

Willey, who has been in fine form with bat and ball since returning from IPL, is the first Yorkshire player to criticise the club after the events precipitated by the allegations of his former team-mate Azeem Rafiq, with the players effectively gagged.

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