Azeem Rafiq case documents which Yorkshire pleaded guilty to deleting were backed up by an IT firm at the time, according to former club executives.
A host of senior figures under the previous regime expressed dismay at the files going missing, with one source claiming everything was also printed out twice.
Confusion comes after the club confirmed in a statement this week that it had admitted an amended charge from the ECB over the missing documents.
“Emails and documents, both held electronically by the club and in paper copy, had been irretrievably deleted from both servers and laptops and otherwise destroyed,” the club said. “After a thorough independent investigation it was established that the deletion and destruction of documents date from a time period prior to the appointment of Lord Patel and relate to the allegations of racism and the club’s response to those allegations.”
Telegraph Sport has seen a letter sent to the ECB and CDC by a former senior executive who expresses puzzlement over the lost documents. Ex-members of staff add that they believe the lost data is retrievable because the IT firm outsources at the time prohibited records being destroyed entirely.
Previous bosses at Yorkshire say, however, that it seemed “impossible” that the documents could go missing. “We had a contract with an IT firm who backed the files every night,” said one source. “We had all Azeem’s files – every shred of paper – in hard copy twice and on computer. It seems impossible to have done this.”
The new regime has pleaded guilty on all charges since the ECB told the club it must demonstrate its credentials on racism to keep international cricket at Headingley.
Critics, however, claim the club could be doing more to help some of the co-accused ahead of this week’s disciplinary hearing. The club is accused of withholding some documents from Michael Vaughan, the only defendant still fighting the allegations.
The club is said to have cited legal privilege as its reason for declining to hand over certain papers to its co-accused. However one former senior figure at the club said: “Why is the club instead looking for excuses to suppress highly relevant evidence? And trying to talk about other people’s entitlement? It is very puzzling that a club would not want to defend itself and one of its players facing a charge from when he played for the club.”
When contacted by Telegraph Sport, Yorkshire said it is “incorrect” to suggest the club has “refused to provide evidence to Michael Vaughan’s legal team to which it is legally entitled”.
This week’s hearing has been reduced dramatically in its scope after Richard Pyrah, Andrew Gale, Matthew Hoggard, Tim Bresnan and John Blain refused to attend. Only Gary Ballance and Yorkshire accept charges against them.
The former Yorkshire spinner Rafiq first alleged racism at Yorkshire in 2020, which led to the charges from ECB last year.