Tom Kohler-Cadmore enjoys his good fortune as Yorkshire Vikings beat Durham in T20 Blast

The game proceeded to the devastating backdrop of Azeem Rafiq’s allegations that he was driven to the brink of suicide by the racism he experienced prior to leaving the club in 2018, allegations that have forced Yorkshire to launch an investigation.

As such, it felt somewhat irrelevant in the grand scheme of things that Yorkshire won this T20 Blast game by 29 runs, the visitors scoring 198-3 after being sent into bat, Tom Kohler-Cadmore leading the way with an unbeaten 85 from 57 balls, before Durham were dismissed for 169 with five balls left.

Indeed, the giant cloud now hanging over Yorkshire’s season – as giant in cricketing terms as anything created by America’s bombing of Japan in 1945 – can only be lifted by the resolution of this ghastly business.

Kohler-Cadmore did his best to divert attention elsewhere, Yorkshire gaining their second win in the tournament to go third in the North Group at the halfway stage.

Not that he was happy with his contribution. “I was just trying to whack it and couldn’t really get going,” he said.

“It’s always nice to score runs in a winning cause, but I’d have liked to have been more fluent and felt like I didn’t actually play that well. I had quite a bit of luck, which I’m never going to complain about, but I felt the other guys around me were absolutely outstanding.”

It was ironic indeed that Yorkshire’s first fixture since the Rafiq revelations came at the ground where his name was associated with controversy in his debut season.

In 2008, the T20 quarter-final between these clubs was infamously called off 10 minutes before the start of play to the utter bemusement of the 4,000 crowd.

Rafiq, it later emerged, had not been properly registered by Yorkshire to play in the competition when he made his debut in an earlier fixture. It cost Yorkshire a place in the knockout stages and made for a raft of unwanted publicity, albeit of the sort that they would probably swing for now compared to recent headlines.

On a mostly cloudy evening, one that felt stranger still due to the continued absence of crowds (although around 100 hospitality guests were present), Yorkshire had reached 29 in the fourth over when Adam Lyth was first out, skying Matty Potts to deep square-leg.

Kohler-Cadmore, his opening partner, had struggled for runs this season (his highest score before this match was 41 when these teams met here in the opening game of the Bob Willis Trophy) but he found his range with a six over long-on off Brydon Carse.

Further maximums followed when Kohler-Cadmore struck left-arm spinner Liam Trevaskis for straight sixes off successive deliveries, with another off the same bowler later taking him to his fifty from 33 balls.

Kohler-Cadmore added 62 for the second wicket with Joe Root, who was making his final appearance before linking up with England for the three-match one-day international series against Australia that starts on Friday. Root hit 25 from 20 balls before picking out long-on, leaving Yorkshire 91-2 in the 11th over.

Harry Brook struck 23 from 13, including an extraordinary off-side six off Paul Coughlin only to hole out to third man next ball attempting a repeat.

Will Fraine then helped Kohler-Cadmore add an unbroken 65 from 31 deliveries, lifting Yorkshire to their highest T20 total on this ground, eclipsing their 186-8 in 2014.

Kohler-Cadmore – dropped on 80 in the final over by Coughlin running in from deep mid-wicket off Nathan Rimmington – hit five sixes to go with three fours, Fraine contributing 36 from 15 deliveries with three sixes to give the innings late impetus.

David Willey, leading Yorkshire for the first time since his appointment as T20 captain seven months ago, opened the bowling and saw Graham Clark take three fours off his first over.

Clark was in fine form, reaching 50 from 26 balls with six fours and two sixes, adding 77 for the first wicket with Alex Lees, who made 24 before striking Root to deep-backward square-leg. Ben Raine was caught at short third-man off leg-spinner Josh Poysden before Root captured the key wicket of Clark, stumped giving him the charge for 68 from 39 balls.

Mat Pilans had David Bedingham caught at deep square-leg; the impressive Poysden had Farhaan Behardien held at cover and Carse taken at long-off; Willey trapped Steel and Trevaskis lbw with successive balls; Fisher bowled Coughlin, and Willey sealed it when Rimmington was caught at short third-man.

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James Mitchinson