Headingley restored as international venue

Yorkshire's right to stage international matches at Headingley has been conditionally restored after the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) stripped the county of hosting privileges last year.

The ECB had punished Yorkshire over their handling of racism and bullying allegations by former player Azeem Rafiq, which also led to sponsors deserting the club.

However, the ECB has been impressed by the work done to change the culture of the club since the appointment of new chair Lord Kamlesh Patel in November, and announced the conditional restoration of hosting rights on Friday.

Rafiq welcomed the news and said the ECB had made the "correct decision".

The ECB made it clear, though, that Yorkshire will only be able to host the third Test against New Zealand in June and July's one-day international against South Africa if two further conditions are met by the end of March.

The governing body says Yorkshire must "resolve the issues relating to rules changes and decisions at the club which have been subject to procedural flaws".

This relates to the late-notice cancellation of an extraordinary general meeting of members due to take place last week, owing to a failure by the previous leadership to file rule changes with the Financial Conduct Authority.

The ECB also wants "amendments to club rules relating to the appointment and operation of the board, including removal of Graves Trust powers" to be addressed before matches can be hosted.

Rafiq said: "This is the correct decision by the ECB - under Lord Patel the club has shown a real willingness to change and has already come a long way.

"His leadership has earned the club another chance, but the reforms must continue and we must see real change."