Tim Bresnan will appeal ECB verdict after being found guilty of racist slur

Former England fast bowler Tim Bresnan is planning to appeal being after found guilty of using racist language whilst playing for Yorkshire, with the bitter saga triggered by Azeem Rafiq’s allegations set to rumble on. 

The ECB announced on Friday that their Cricket Discipline Commission had upheld disrepute charges against Bresnan, specifically the allegation that he called Rafiq’s sister Amna a ‘Fit P**i’ on several occasions when on duty for his county.

Bresnan withdrew from the ECB’s disciplinary process last month due to frustration at being denied access to crucial evidence whilst preparing his defence, but along with former team-mates Matthew Hoggard, Andrew Gale, Richard Pyrah and John Blain was found guilty in his absence. 

The 2011 Ashes winner was cleared of other charges levelled by the ECB, including one that calling a group of Asian players ‘brothers’ was racially motivated.

Bresnan is understood to regret not defending himself however, and in accordance with CDC regulations is preparing to mount an appeal. 

Tim Bresnan plans to appeal the guilty verdict of the ECB Cricket Discipline Commission 

The former England fast bowler is understood to regret not defending himself 

Blain is also believed to be considered appealing against the judgement after revealing last week that the allegations against him had driven him to the brink of suicide.

It came as Michael Vaughan criticised the ECB’s decision to charge him as ‘inappropriate, inadequate and backwards’ after he was cleared of using racist language towards Azeem Rafiq. 

The former England captain has always denied using the words ‘there’s too many of you lot, we need to do something about that’ towards Rafiq and three other Asian players before a Yorkshire game in 2009.

Following an eight-day hearing earlier this month the ECB’s Cricket Discipline Commission released their findings this morning, which concluded that the case against Vaughan was unproven. 

The verdict said that ‘on the balance of probabilities’ Vaughan did not use racist language ‘at the time and in the specific circumstances alleged’. 

Michael Vaughan has seen racism charges against him dropped, revealing the news in an Instagram statement just before the official findings were published

Azeem Rafiq was one of those Yorkshire players of Asian descent who was allegedly the subject of Vaughan’s comments in 2009 

The incident was said to have happened moments after a team huddle prior to a T20 match against Nottinghamshire in 2009 when Vaughan was alleged to have said to a group of Asian players including Rafiq: ‘There’s too many of you lot, we need to have a word about that’