Former England captain Michael Vaughan will return to the BBC for this summer's men's Ashes series and the Test match against Ireland.

The 48-year-old denied the allegation.

He was cleared by the Cricket Discipline Commission in March.

Vaughan was accused of saying "there's too many of you lot, we need to have a word about that" to Rafiq and team-mates Adil Rashid, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and Ajmal Shahzad during a Yorkshire match in 2009.

He was charged along with Yorkshire County Cricket Club and six other former players with bringing the game into disrepute, following a nine-month investigation by the England and Wales Cricket Board.

The panel said it was "not satisfied on the balance of probabilities" that the words were said by Vaughan "at the time and in the specific circumstances alleged".

He was not involved in BBC coverage of the 2021-22 Ashes series in Australia but returned in March 2022, before stepping back three months later.

He has since apologised for sending "disgusting" historical tweets which were brought to his attention in a 2021 BBC interview.

At the time of the panel's verdict, Vaughan posted on social media that the outcome "must not be allowed to detract from the core message that there can be no place for racism in the game of cricket, or in society generally".

England play Ireland in their first Test match of the summer, starting on 1 June, before the men's Ashes begins on 16 June.

Vaughan captained England in Tests between 2003 and 2008 and led them to success in the 2005 Ashes.

He played his entire domestic career at Yorkshire - between 1993 and 2009 - before becoming a summariser on Test Match Special and later a commentator for BBC TV, BT Sport and Australia's Fox Sports.

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