Yorkshire Former England seamer Kabir Ali named assistant coach role at Headingley | Cricket News

Kabir Ali: “I believe the best way to approach coaching is to keep things simple and let the players enjoy it. I want the team to feel good and drive their games forward, and I’m looking forward to helping them on that journey from day one”

Kabir Ali is joined by Alastair Maiden as an assistant at Yorkshire

Former England international Kabir Ali has joined Yorkshire as an assistant coach.

The 41-year-old, who most recently worked as a bowling coach at Warwickshire, is joined by Alastair Maiden as an assistant at Yorkshire, with Tom Smith confirmed as second XI coach.

Former Lancashire seamer Ali, who played one Test and 14 one-day internationals for England between 2003 and 2006, joins the county at a time of huge cultural change.

Lord Kamlesh Patel was appointed chair last November after the previous leadership were heavily criticised over their handling of racism and bullying allegations by former player Azeem Rafiq.

In early December, the county announced the dismissal of 16 members of staff, including former first-team coach Andrew Gale and ex-director of cricket Martyn Moxon.

Ali will work alongside new head coach Ottis Gibson and new interim managing director of cricket Darren Gough in his new post.

Ali said: “I am so pleased to be joining the team at Yorkshire and to work alongside Ottis and Darren. Their vision for the club is so exciting, and there is such potential here for a really bright future.

“I believe the best way to approach coaching is to keep things simple and let the players enjoy it. I want the team to feel good and drive their games forward, and I’m looking forward to helping them on that journey from day one.”

Prior to his role at Warwickshire, Ali worked in the Bangladeshi and Sri Lankan Premier Leagues. He also served as a director of cricket for the South Asian Cricket Academy.

Gough said: “Kabir is a fantastic addition to the coaching team and was the outstanding candidate to lead on bowling.

“Both Ottis and I were particularly taken by Kabir’s energy and passion for the game and, following a brilliant playing career, he already has a huge amount of experience for a young coach.”

Yorkshire set to host England matches as ECB lifts suspension

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Yorkshire’s suspension from staging international Test cricket has been lifted by the ECB, subject to conditions regarding the running of the club

Yorkshire’s suspension from hosting international cricket at Headingley has been lifted by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), subject to conditions regarding the running of the county.

The county had lucrative matches scheduled for this summer removed from them by the ECB last November over their handling of an investigation into allegations of racial harassment and bullying by former player Azeem Rafiq.

However, Headingley is now set to host an England men’s Test match against New Zealand on June 23 and a one-day international against South Africa on July 24, on the condition the county implements further changes by the end of March.

The ECB has demanded the resolution of “issues relating to rules changes and decisions at the club which have been subject to procedural flaws”, along with the removal of Yorkshire board veto and observer powers held by the family trust of former chair Colin Graves, which is a major creditor of the county.

English cricket’s governing body also published the 10 criteria and timescales – communicated to Yorkshire in November – which informed its decision, offering summaries as to how the county had successfully met targets.