Yorkshire CCC appear to be in turmoil once again after former chief Robin Smith called for new chairman Lord Patel to resign.
This comes just four months after he joined as chairman and he now faces threats of legal action if he doesn't step aside. Smith told the Daily Mail he will 'not give up' until Patel is no longer at the helm after claims his reign was ‘riddled with mistakes and damage.'
“He should withdraw from the scene,” said Smith, who was Yorkshire chairman on two separate occasions from 2002-2005 and again from 2018-2020.
“His history, brief though it is, has been so riddled with mistakes and damage that his credibility has gone. Yorkshire deserves to have the very finest management and until it gets it I shall not give up.
“At the moment, I'm afraid it has got the worse management it has ever had in my lifetime. The club has reached such a pass in its affairs that it needs new leadership and also a new board because of the handling of the last few months.”
Patel became Yorkshire chairman last November in the wake of the Azeem Rafiq racism scandal. He was one of numerous changes to the club and is trying to push through reforms to ensure the club's international status is restored by the ECB.
But ahead of a crucial members' vote, which will determine whether Headingley can resume hosting England matches, Smith wants the reign ended as soon as possible. The spat began when he claimed Patel’s leadership is invalid after Yorkshire allegedly failed to submit a rule change, which will allow them to appoint a non-member to the board.
Smith also suggested he could be liable for the sackings of 14 staff in the wake of the Azeem Rafiq affair. Smith said: “Only from Monday of this week has it been possible to appoint to the board a non-member or a member with less than two years’ membership like Patel.
“He had not been a member for two years and therefore his appointment is invalid. As he was not validly appointed, he could be personally liable for the decisions he has made. Why should the club or its members pay for decisions taken by someone who shouldn’t even be in office?”
Smith sent all his complaints to Patel in email and also copied in ECB acting chair Barry O'Brien and chief executive Tom Harrison. He has also warned of a future legal fight, which could be potentially damaging.
“If he refuses to engage, the end result will be litigation, which will be very expensive and for which he will be personally liable," said Smith. “The club is careering down a road steeped in illegality and is doing things that ought not to be done by any decent business. They are planning embarrassment on to embarrassment and damage on to damage.”
Lord Patel, however, has not taken the threats lying down and has hit back at Smith’s criticisms. Patel said last month : “To eradicate all forms of discrimination from cricket as a whole, we need strong, resolute leadership and holistic action.
“It is plain that, when I joined the Club in November, it had a wealth of legacy problems inherited from previous leadership, of which former Chairman Robin Smith was a part. I made a conscious decision that we would focus on a positive future for Yorkshire and remediate the inherited issues.
“There is emerging, however, a clear agenda to undermine the Club, driven by opposition to our progress and a desire to maintain an outdated status quo. It is disheartening and pernicious in equal manner.”
