A LIFE Peer from Bradford, Lord Kamlesh Patel, has been appointed as the new chairman of Yorkshire County Cricket Club.

It comes after Roger Hutton resigned from the position amid racism allegations aimed towards the club by former player Azeem Rafiq.

In 2015, Professor Lord Patel became the first British Asian to become a director of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) management board as an independent member.

Lord Patel - the new director and chair of Yorkshire - said: “I’m looking forward to taking this club forward and driving the change that is needed.

“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.”

Two further Yorkshire board members, Hanif Malik and Stephen Willis, have also stepped down following an emergency meeting today.

A fourth board member, Neil Hartley, will step down in the near future.

A club statement added: "The board of the Yorkshire County Cricket Club has met this morning and can confirm a number of changes.

"It is resolved to do whatever it takes to regain the trust of all its stakeholder inside and outside the game.

"Further to the resignation of Roger Hutton from the Board this morning, Hanif Malik OBE and Stephen Willis have also stepped down from the board. The club would like to thank all of them for their respective contributions.

"Neil Hartley will remain on the board to ensure a smooth transition to new leadership, but intends to step down in the near future."

Lord Patel was born in Nairobi, Kenya, and moved to Bradford when he was one-year-old.

He is a former chairman of the Mental Health Act Commission and served as a government minister in the House of Lords from 2008 to 2009.

In 2015, he was a professor at the University of East London and chair of the Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundations Trust.

When speaking to the T&A, in that year, Lord Patel said he divides his time between Thornton and London.

He also added that he has a lifelong passion for cricket and still plays for Northowram Fields as an all-rounder alongside his son Dru in the Central Yorkshire League.