Yorkshire name new chairman and vow to "regain trust and rebuild relationships"

Yorkshire have appointed Lord Kamlesh Patel of Bradford as the club's new chairman and director, following the resignation of former chairman Roger Hutton over the Azeem Rafiq racism scandal.

Hutton resigned from his post on Friday and board members Hanif Malik and Stephen Willis have also stepped down.

In a statement, Yorkshire announced Patel's appointment and vowed that the club will "do whatever it takes to regain the trust of all its stakeholder inside and outside the game."

Patel also stated that Yorkshire needs to "learn from its past errors, regain trust and rebuild relationships with our communities".

"I’m looking forward to taking this Club forward and driving the change that is needed," he said.

Yorkshire County Cricket Club have appointed Lord Kamlesh Patel as their new chairman after Roger Hutton resigned from the role (PA Wire/PA Images)

"The Club needs to learn from its past errors, regain trust and rebuild relationships with our communities.

"There is much work to do, including reading the panel’s report, so we can begin the process of learning from our past mistakes.

"Yorkshire is lucky to have a vast talent pool of cricketers, and passionate supporters, from all of our communities and we must re-engage with everyone to make a better Yorkshire County Cricket Club for everyone."

It has also been confirmed that Neil Hartley will remain part of the club's board in a bid to "ensure a smooth transition to new leadership", but he will eventually step down.

After announcing his resignation, Hutton was critical of the culture at Yorkshire, slamming the board and its senior executives for their "constant unwillingness ... to apologise and to accept racism."

He said: "There has been a constant unwillingness from the executive members of the board and senior management at the club to apologise and to accept racism and to look forward.

"For much of my time at the club, I experienced a culture that refuses to accept change or challenge.

"During my time as chairman, I take responsibility for failing to persuade them to take appropriate and timely action.

"I now call for those executive members of the board to resign, to make way for a new path for the club I love so much."