Former Scotland bowler John Blain has had his suspension from Cricket Scotland's Hall of Fame lifted four years after he was accused of racism during his playing career.
Blain, who was capped 118 times by Scotland, was inducted into the board's Hall of Fame in May 2019. However, he was temporarily suspended from the roll of honour in 2022 during an independent review into historical allegations of racism at Cricket Scotland.
Following a submission to the board led by Cricket Scotland President Omar Henry and panel member Sanjay Patel, Blain's Hall of Fame suspension was lifted today (March 3), subject to him completing equality, diversity and inclusion training. A statement from Blain following the lifting of the suspension read: “I am enormously grateful to the many, many people who have stood by me since I was falsely accused of racism.
“Representing my country 118 times was the greatest honour of my life, and the decision almost four years ago to remove me from the Scottish Cricket Hall of Fame was one of the biggest blows during a very challenging period for me and my family. Thankfully I was cleared after a lengthy process in which I provided extensive supportive evidence.”
Blain reinstated to Hall of Fame after racism allegations row
Allegations that he had used a racist slur on a tour of Kenya in 2007 were made against Blain by former Scotland teammates Majid Haq and Qasim Sheikh as part of an investigation which found Cricket Scotland to be institutionally racist in 2022. Following an investigation carried out by independent law firms into the allegations, Blain said he had been "completely exonerated" and published a letter written to him by former Cricket Scotland CEO Peter Fitzboydon which said the allegations against him were "unfounded".
Cricket Scotland later clarified that the allegations against Blain had not been taken further "due to a combination of insufficient evidence, a lack of an applicable rule at the time of the complaint, and/or a lack of jurisdictional remit or authority to take formal action".
Blain subsequently accused the board of making "a craven, disingenuous and despicable attempt to rewrite history".
Separately to the allegations made against him by Sheikh and Haq, Blain was also accused by Azeem Rafiq of using racial slurs during his time as a player for Yorkshire. Those allegations were upheld by the Cricket Discipline Commission in 2023, and Blain was fined £5,000, received a reprimand from the CDC, and required to take part in a racism and discrimination course. Blain has denied the allegations against him relating to his time at Yorkshire.
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