westoelad wrote:Arthur Crabtree wrote:I know it's not fair to suggest this... but it's a bit of a challenge to assume that Gough represents a year zero, a cultural clean break from what went on before.
Gough and Rafiq are buddies
I think, I can be corrected, that when Rafiq's allegations were made public and Yorkshire started their now legendary internal investigation, one of the revelations was that he had accused one of his former captains of open racism towards him (which we now know was Vaughan). Someone then dug up a comment from Gough after Rafiq's FC debut where Gough he had said in a TV interview that he didn't actually know the new debutants name, and that he just called him Raffa like everyone else did.... followed by Twitter warriors claiming this was obviously evidence of Gough being ignorant towards Rafiq, and so obviously the person in question would be Gough.
Gough responded personally on Twitter to a few keyboard warriors saying that the reason he didnt know Rafiq's name was down to the fact he'd never met him nor heard of him. Rafiq apparently had been asked to bowl to Gough and others in a net session, and his performance was so impressive, Gough decided he wanted this kid "Raffa" to get a chance in the actual game.... and then he got picked and debuted.
He then went on to say that as a sort of protégé of Gough's, he always looked out for him and that the two talk regularly even now, with Gough apparently supporting him through the loss of his child and other issues hes had through the years, and that even at that time in question the two were studying for coaching qualifications together and were helping each other get through their exams and coursework.
Rafiq then came out to basically confirm what Gough had said, saying he had always been there as a captain and through the years. I think Rafiq's first interview post the Yorkshire revelations with on Gough's TS show.
So definitely no suggestions in Rafiq's case that Gough is in anyway part of what followed under other captains and leaders. Both have indicated they have a bond that has transferred away from the cricket pitch.