Michael Vaughan cleared of using racist language

Michael Vaughan has been cleared of using racist language towards a group of Asian players at Yorkshire in 2009 after a panel found "significant inconsistencies" in how key witnesses recalled the alleged remark.

The former England captain first posted on Instagram to announce that a Cricket Discipline Commission panel had cleared him of the charge.

The charge related to words he was alleged to have used to Azeem Rafiq, Adil Rashid, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and Ajmal Shahzad as the team broke from a pre-match huddle before a T20 Cup match against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge on June 22, 2009.

The CDC panel's decision was later published on the England and Wales Cricket Board website, and the panel highlighted discrepancies in the precise wording of the second half of the phrase Vaughan was alleged to have used in the evidence given by Rafiq and Rashid to the hearing, which took place in public earlier this month.

The CDC panel's decision on Vaughan stated: "There are significant inconsistencies in the evidence of both primary witnesses, AZR (Rafiq) and ADR (Rashid), in this regard.

"These are recognised by the ECB in the manner in which it closed its case.

"Considering all the relevant evidence on this first limb of the charge (that the conduct in question occurred), the panel is not satisfied on the balance of probabilities that this form of words was said.

"Accordingly, the first limb of the ECB's charge against MV is not proved."