Michael Vaughan played 170 games for England across formats
| Venue: Five venues across England Date: 16 June-31 July |
| Coverage: Live text commentary and in-play video clips on the BBC Sport website & app, plus BBC Test Match Special on BBC Sounds and BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra. Daily Today at the Test highlights on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer from 19:00 BST. |
Renowned former England captain Michael Vaughan is set to make a highly anticipated comeback to the BBC, as he joins the broadcasting team for this summer’s men’s Ashes series and the Test match against Ireland. After retiring from professional cricket in 2009, Vaughan transitioned into the role of a pundit, providing expert analysis. However, he temporarily withdrew from his broadcasting responsibilities in June following allegations of him using racist language towards his former teammate Azeem Rafiq during their time at Yorkshire.
Despite denying the accusation, the 48-year-old underwent an investigation by the Cricket Discipline Commission, which ultimately cleared him of any wrongdoing in March. The allegations revolved around Vaughan allegedly stating, “There’s too many of you lot, we need to have a word about that,” directed at Rafiq and fellow teammates Adil Rashid, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, and Ajmal Shahzad during a Yorkshire match in 2009.
Following the nine-month investigation conducted by the England and Wales Cricket Board, Vaughan, Yorkshire County Cricket Club, and six other former players were charged with bringing the game into disrepute. However, the panel concluded that there was insufficient evidence to support the allegations against Vaughan, specifically stating that they were not satisfied that the words were spoken by him “at the time and in the specific circumstances alleged.”
Vaughan did not participate in the BBC coverage of the 2021-22 Ashes series in Australia but made his return in March 2022. However, he subsequently took a break three months later. During this period, he publicly apologized for past offensive tweets that were brought to light during a 2021 BBC interview, describing them as “disgusting.”
Upon the panel’s verdict, Vaughan took to social media to emphasize that the focus should remain on the important message that racism has no place in cricket or society as a whole.
Notably, Vaughan’s legacy includes captaining the England Test team from 2003 to 2008 and leading them to victory in the iconic 2005 Ashes series. Throughout his domestic career, he exclusively represented Yorkshire from 1993 to 2009. Following his retirement as a player, he transitioned into the world of broadcasting, working as a summarizer on Test Match Special and later as a commentator for BBC TV, BT Sport, and Australia’s Fox Sports.
