Return of Rich Pyrah: Former Yorkshire coach now set to lead women's team

Rich Pyrah, who was one of the 16 staff members dismissed by Yorkshire during the racism scandal, is set to make a comeback at the club next month. He will be taking on the role of the new head coach for Yorkshire's women's team.

Pyrah, who was men's batting coach before he was dismissed, was last year found guilty of using "racist and discriminatory language" when referring to whistleblower Azeem Rafiq's sister by the Cricket Discipline Commission. He was handed a two-week ban from coaching and was fined £2,5000.

He was previously one of the 16 members of staff sacked after signing a letter to the Yorkshire board that accused Rafiq of waging a "one-man mission to bring down the club" when he made allegations of an institutionally racist culture in late 2021. The club and Pyrah reached a settlement the following year after Yorkshire accepted his sacking had been "procedurally unfair".

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Yorkshire confirmed the news in a club statement on Friday which made no reference to his sacking. "We're delighted Richard has agreed to become the head coach of our women's team and we are very pleased to welcome him back to Yorkshire," Colin Graves, the club's chairman, said.

"After a thorough and robust process, Richard stood out amongst an incredible shortlist of candidates. Through the whole process it was clear Richard is the right person to lead Yorkshire into the club's new chapter and take our women's professional team to the highest level.

"Richard is a proven developer, has an excellent reputation, and a winning mentality as a player and as a coach. We believe that Richard will be the perfect fit for the next stage of our new and exciting journey."

Yorkshire will play in Tier 2 of the ECB's revamped domestic structure next year, alongside Derbyshire, Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Kent, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Middlesex, Sussex and Worcestershire. They will then become a Tier 1 county from 2026 onwards.

"It's an incredible honour for me to be given the opportunity to lead Yorkshire's women's side and it's the proudest moment of my career," Pyrah said. "This is an exciting time to be involved in women's cricket, following ECB's restructure of the women's professional game."