For just under two hours Azeem Rafiq addressed a group of MPs about his experiences of racism as a player at Yorkshire.

The former captain spoke emotionally about the racist comments and actions that left him, in his own words, close to taking his own life.

Former Yorkshire chair Roger Hutton and England and Wales Cricket Board chief executive Tom Harrison were also interviewed by the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport select committee.

Rafiq first spoke about his experiences of racism in September 2020. Since then, Yorkshire have carried out an investigation that has been heavily criticised.

Rafiq spoke to MPs about the scale of the abuse he received and the lack of support he was given throughout his playing and non-playing days. He said that the Yorkshire dressing room became a toxic place when Gary Ballance was appointed captain during Rafiq's second spell at the club.

He detailed consistent abuse from Ballance, including the use of racist language about his Pakistani heritage, which was witnessed by other players and coaches. He described how India batter Cheteshwar Pujara was called "Steve" by former bowler Jack Brooks, with Pujara saying that he did not like the name and would have preferred to be called Cheteshwar.

Rafiq also spoke about the term 'Kevin', which Ballance used to describe people of colour in a derogatory manner. He said the word was an open secret in the England dressing room when Ballance and Nottinghamshire batter Alex Hales were on national duty. He said Hales went on to name his dog Kevin "because it was black".

He also said he found it hurtful that England captain Joe Root had said he could not recall witnessing any racism. Root was formerly a housemate of Ballance.

Azeem described Root as a "good man" but said he was present on nights out when racist language was directed to him. Ballance previously released a statement saying that he deeply regretted his actions.

Rafiq also mentioned the attitudes of Tim Bresnan, Andrew Gale and Matthew Hoggard towards him at the club saying that Hoggard called him after an interview to apologise for his actions. Bresnan has since released a statement apologising.

Rafiq graphically described being pinned down while playing for his local cricket club as a 15-year-old and having red wine poured down his throat. The player who did it to him went on to represent Yorkshire and Hampshire.

He said he was "angry at himself" for allowing the incident to happen, despite being so young. A practising Muslim, Rafiq later drank while at Yorkshire to fit in but was still abused by individuals.

He broke down in tears as he described how Martyn Moxon, the current director of cricket at Yorkshire, "ripped shreds” off him when he returned to work after the stillbirth of his son in 2017. "They weren't really bothered about the fact that I was at training one day and I get a phone call to say there's no heartbeat," he said.

Rafiq added that he had never seen Moxon speak to anyone like that before, and called on him to apologise. He described how his life had been made hell since he went public with his allegations and also described how high-profile pundits messaged those who supported him and tried to discredit him.

He named former England coach David Lloyd as one of those who was involved, despite Lloyd having never spent any time with him and also criticised Michael Vaughan's newspaper column in which he said he had been named in the report for making an alleged racist comment. "It's important on Michael that we don't make it all about Michael," Rafiq added.

Lloyd released a statement saying that he  deeply regretted his actions and apologised to Rafiq. Vaughan released two statements stating that he "completely and categorically” denied the allegation.

Rafiq also described the Professional Cricketers' Association's (representative body for male and female players in England and Wales) stance following the investigation as "incredibly inept".

Of the PCA Rafiq said: "It was, 'oh, we've got members on both sides'. So, you're protecting the perpetrators and you have no interest in where this is taking me?

"The PCA kept telling me, when the report comes out they would support me. Once it did, they said we have no powers, we can just push the ECB." The PCA said that it recognises important lessons need to be learnt in the way these matters are handle".

Chief executive Rob Lynch said: "We are listening to our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Working Group, which was established in July 2020.

"Acting upon their feedback, anti-racism education has been ongoing throughout 2021 and is part of our commitment to eradicating racism and discrimination within the professional game. The PCA has also set up a panel of independent barristers who can be contacted, in confidence, by members encountering any issues of racism and discrimination."

Rafiq said that he could not imagine, as a parent himself, letting children play cricket given what he experienced. He added that he believes he lost his career to racism but added that he wants to become a voice to the voiceless to stop others going through the same experiences.

"I have tried to stay away in the process from talking about cricket but I think, with the stats and stuff around 2017, I had the ability to go to the top," he said. "These instances really weighed down on me.

"I want to help young players but also counties to change their environment and achieve their dream. I wasn't able to achieve my dreams."

Former Yorkshire chairman Roger Hutton, who stepped down following heavy criticism of Yorkshire's handling of the complaints, and his replacement Lord Patel also spoke to the panel. Hutton said he faced repeated resistance at Yorkshire, including an unwillingness to accept that Rafiq had been a victim or to implement the changes recommended by the investigation.

He said he was asked by chief executive Mark Arthur - who has since stepped down - to abandon the process and investigation. He also said Arthur did not want to apologise, adding: "I said Azeem Rafiq would be part of the process of healing and reconciliation and was told he would not be welcome."

Arthur was due to speak at the DCMS select committee but did not. Hutton said he wanted to remove Arthur and director of cricket Martyn Moxon from their posts, as well as the head of human resources.

When pressed, Hutton said that he feared Yorkshire falls under that definition of institutionally racist. The report into Rafiq's claims had said there was insufficient evidence to prove this.

"I have to observe that in the past few months there has been a substantial amount of thoughtlessness and ignorance and a reluctance to apologise and to put into place the recommendations," he added. Hutton repeated his claim that Yorkshire had asked the ECB to lead the investigation into Rafiq's claims but had not been offered any help.

Harrison, however, said the regulatory department had only been asked to be a partner in the investigation and sit on the panel that assessed the investigators' report. The ECB turned Yorkshire down because, as a regulator, it had to be able to oversee the whole investigation, rather than be involved.

"Yorkshire were very clear that they wanted to run this investigation themselves," Harrison added.