A KEY meeting of Yorkshire members to vote on changes to the structure of the board has been cancelled, the club have said.

The extraordinary general meeting, which had been due to start at 6pm this evening, has been seen as a key step in the county’s governance overhaul in the wake of the Azeem Rafiq racism crisis.

It was also expected that a decision by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on whether to restore international cricket to Headingley this summer would be taken based on the outcome of the EGM, but any news on that will now have to wait.

In a statement released to the PA news agency, a spokesperson for the county said: “Yorkshire County Cricket Club can confirm that it has cancelled the extraordinary general meeting which was to take place on February 2 at Headingley, after it has come to our attention that the meeting was not properly called.

“The club will arrange for a further EGM to be convened as soon as practicable and preferably before the end of this month.

“At that meeting, the proposed changes to the governance of the club will be discussed and voted upon by members.”

Yorkshire were proposing to members that the club rules be amended, allowing up to eight independent non-executive directors who are not club members to be nominated to join the board, with up to two spaces on the board for club members.

Members were also being asked to consider a rule change to allow a representative of the ECB onto the board’s nominations committee.