Azeem Rafiq is an English cricketer. A right arm off-spin bowler with a scholarship to Yorkshire, Azeem was a short-term loan signing of Derbyshire in the 2011 season. Azeem was also captain of the England Under-15s and Under-19s, and the first Yorkshire cricket player of an Asian background to captain an England cricket side at any level. His use of a successful doosra delivery against Michael Vaughan during a nets session at Headingley drew attention of England bowling coach David Parsons, and ear marked Azeem as a possible future England bowler. Azeem was also the recipient of a Sport England award in 2006.
Biography
Azeem Rafiq attended Holgate School near his home of Barnsley, and played cricket for Barnsley Cricket Club. He was called up for the England Under-15s, which he captained, and played for Yorkshire Cricket Club's academy team, where he was named as 'Junior Performer of the Year'. At two One Day Internationals at Loughborough University against Scotland where England's spinners took 17 of the 20 wickets, Azeem took 1-5 and 2-14. Azeem has also had success as a right-handed batsman, scoring 59 against Barbados U16 again while captaining the England U15s. The team coach, John Wake, stated: Of Rafiq's England prospects, David Parsons remarked that "he's a decent bowler for a 16-year-old and is generally quite an orthodox bowler....there's no doubt he's an exciting prospect and a genuine all-rounder - not one of these bowlers seeking to improve his batting". As well as from Parsons, Azeem has received coaching and advice from Saqlain Mushtaq, a former Pakistanispin bowler. awards Azeem Rafiq the Yorkshire County Cricket Club Academy Player of the Year award 2008. On 7 July 2008, the proposed Twenty20 match between Yorkshire and Durham was postponed due to Yorkshire fielding Rafiq during a Twenty-20 game against Nottinghamshire in the previous round. The controversy surrounded the registering of Azeem Rafiq, who was not registered with the ECB as a full-time player for Yorkshire. As a result, the ECB excluded Yorkshire from the 2008 competition and awarded the match points to Nottinghamshire, which would have meant they went through to the quarter final to play Durham. However at an appeal with the ECB, heard on 14 July 2008, Yorkshire were handed a reduced punishment. The result of the match stood, but Yorkshire's two points earned were deducted. This meant that neither Nottinghamshire nor Yorkshire went through, instead Glamorgan progressed to the quarter finals. Rafiq was a recipient of a Brian Johnston Memorial Trust Scholarship to give young cricketers financial support, and was awarded the Yorkshire County Cricket Club Academy Player of the Year in 2008. Rafiq was captain for the England U-19 squad in the 2010 World Cup, but was dropped for the second England Under-19 Test against Sri Lanka for breaking mid-match curfews; he responded by publishing a strongly worded attack against coach John Abrahams on his Twitter account, deleting them once he realised they were made public. On 26 July 2010, he was given a one-month ban from all cricket by the ECB. In June 2012, Rafiq captained Yorkshire in a Twenty20 match against Durham becoming the youngest captain in the county's history.
