The chief executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has described the abuse experienced by former Yorkshire cricketer Azeem Rafiq as “poisonous” for the game.

Speaking for the first time since the racism scandal that rocked English cricket, Richard Gould, acknowledged more needs to be done to win back the trust of communities that the governing body has not fully engaged with to the extent it should have.

Mr Gould, who was appointed to the role in January, said: “Clearly that was an important moment for the game.

“That was the culmination of a lot of issues over a long period of time which had become poisonous for the game. We needed to ensure we could deal with those issues.”

Last week, former England captain Michael Vaughan was cleared by the Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC) of a racism charge of making derogatory comments towards a group of Yorkshire teammates of Asian ethnicity.

Five other players – John Blain, Tim Bresnan, Andrew Gale, Matthew Hoggard, and Richard Pyrah, who all failed to cooperate with the CDC hearings, were found to have used racist and/or discriminatory language towards Rafiq and others – while Yorkshire County Cricket Club and batter, Gary Ballance admitted charges against them.

An Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC) report investigating racism, sexism, and class was expected to be published this week but has once again been pushed back.

Former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan cleared of racism charge

Michael Vaughan to hear verdict of racial abuse disciplinary commission on Friday

Michael Vaughan’s reputation is on the line – and for Azeem Rafiq it is about seeking justice

“I’m sure it’ll be out at some stage soon, but I wouldn’t want them to be rushing through their work at the expense of missing out on an opportunity to provide us with the most insight possible,” Mr Gould said.

In February, former home secretary Priti Patel described the ECB’s transgender policy as “shameful” following reports of a trans woman playing against girls as young as 12.

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Clarifying English cricket’s position, Mr Gould said: “Clearly there are examples where we need to provide more guidance to ensure the safest environment possible.

“We will go through a consultation process. But it is very likely that we will move to a medical hormone level as a first step, and there may be other steps that we take subject to further consultation.”

With issues off the field dominating the headlines in recent weeks, the 53-year-old former chief executive of Bristol City Football Club returns to cricket tasked with making it “the most inclusive sport in the country”.

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