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Yorkshire to hold crucial meeting as county fights to bring back international cricket to Headingley

Yorkshire have confirmed that a members’ meeting - which could pave the way for the return of international cricket to Headingley - has been rescheduled for March 14.

Last Friday, the England and Wales Cricket Board revealed that hosting rights had been partially restored to the county. The upcoming meeting is intended to sole the remaining problems and remove any final obstacles. 

The ECB stripped Yorkshire of their right to host internationals last November as the governing body responded to the county's handling of racism allegations made by former player Azeem Rafiq.
Lord Patel, who is the Yorkshire chairman, recently wrote to members saying that sufficient signatures had been gathered to hold the extraordinary general meeting (EGM).
According to the chair, the intention of the meeting is to 'end potential paralysis' of the county's board.
The meeting is also expected to vote on rule changes allowing up to eight non-members to join the board as independent non-executive directors, to set three-year default term limits for board members and, crucially, to remove the Colin Graves Trust's veto over board appointments and rule amendments.
The ECB explicitly referenced the removal of the Trust's powers as a condition of restoring international cricket to Headingley in its statement last Friday.
The ECB have restored hosting rights to Yorkshire's Headingley Stadium

The club had to cancel the originally scheduled EGM on February 2 at late notice due to a procedural flaw.

Rule changes adopted by members in 2020 and 2021 had not been filed with the Financial Conduct Authority and therefore the meeting had not been properly called.

Former Yorkshire chair Robin Smith also questioned the validity of Lord Patel's chairmanship over the same failure to file.

Lord Patel hit out at a group of individuals in a statement issued to the PA news agency on February 3, who he claimed were trying to "delay and derail" reform at Yorkshire. He said the group believed the club was being "sacrificed on the altar of Black Lives Matter".

READ MORE: England set to host South Africa for the first time in nearly 20 years

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