Azeem Rafiq: Tino Best says cricket needs to tackle drinking culture

Education is important.

Tino Best, a former Yorkshire and Hampshire bowler, says cricket needs to tackle a "drinking culture" which is "hampering" opportunities for black and Asian players.

Azeem Rafiq, who played for Yorkshire in the 2010 season, said on Tuesday that English cricket was "institutionally" racist.

Rafiq told the committee about how he was pinned down by a senior player at his local cricket club and that red wine was poured into his mouth.

He did not drink alcohol again until around 2012 when he felt he had to fit in at Yorkshire.

The culture around cricket is drinking. That is a big problem. People shouldn't be told to go into the club and drink a lot of beer. You have to stop making people do things they don't want to do.

"If you're not a part of the drinking culture, if you're not a part of the boys' club, you're not going to get opportunities after cricket." That is making it harder for people of colour and Asian ethnicity.

Tom Harrison, the chief executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board, told MPs on Tuesday that there was no place for racism in cricket.

It was amazing to hear what those guys were saying back in 2010.

Best played for Yorkshire in 2010.

Rafiq was giving evidence to MPs after a report found he was a victim of racial harassment and was not going to be disciplined by Yorkshire.

He was surprised to find out he was named in the report. He had written an email to Rafiq's lawyer about the treatment of players of Pakistani heritage, but neither the investigating team nor Best had tried to contact him.

He said that he saw the guys at Yorkshire together.

I would always be with them as well as being a person of colour. They would complain every day about what they went through in the youth academy. I would be amazed.

Rafiq has spoken about the use of nicknames for non-white players.

Best was at Yorkshire and did not hear this.

I didn't hear anyone say anything, but when I was at the restaurant with the guys, they would talk about the things that happened to them, and it was very upsetting.

That was a wake up call for me. It was amazing to hear what those guys were saying back in 2010. Guys would have probably lost contracts and been kicked out of the club if there was a platform for them to open up. Guys were afraid of that.

The incident with Moxon was the best.

Best said that he was warmly received by the fans and the community at Yorkshire, and described his time there as "brilliant" and " awesome". One incident stuck with him.

He confronted Yorkshire's director of cricket last year over a comment he made when he told Best after a game that he would send him home.

Rafiq's witness statement was released by DCMS after Tuesday's hearing, and it mentioned the incident between Best and Moxon.

He said he didn't think the comment could be taken as racist until he heard people say "go back home" in league cricket.

Moxon gave a "half-hearted explanation" for the match and conversation he remembered, according to Best.

"He was saying 'oh don't try to drag me into this Black Lives Matter thing', and I wanted to know if he had said it to any player and what they were getting at," said Best. He said he would have said it to any player.

"If you don't see where you went wrong, it doesn't make sense to me and I have a good day with you," I said. I was done with it, but when Rafiq opened up the can of worms, I realized that this is a norm. This type of behavior was common at the club for those guys.

Moxon, who is currently absent from Yorkshire with a stress-related illness, has been contacted by the club.

Azeem Rafiq spoke to the sports editor of the British Broadcasting Corporation.

The key to moving forward is education.

Best doesn't agree with people being fired over racism, but believes education is the key to moving forward.

It's like a rehabilitation. How do you beat alcoholism? He said you have to go to rehabilitation.

He said anyone implicated in the cricket racism scandal should have to go through an educational rehabilitation before they can return to work.

He said that between six months and a year of training would help them learn.