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• Michael Vaughan cleared of ECB racism charge

  Former England captain Michael Vaughan has been cleared of bringing cricket into disrepute by using racist language.

  The 48-year-old former batter had been accused of saying there were "too many of you lot", referring to Asian players prior to Yorkshire's T20 match against Nottinghamshire in 2009.

  Vaughan's lawyers had accused the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) of being biased in their investigation into the allegations, with cricket discipline commission (CDC) hearings ending in early March.

  Now the former Yorkshire player has seen the charge against him dismissed, with the CDC saying the claims Vaughan faced were "not proved".

  The case against Vaughan was made amid Azeem Rafiq's allegations of institutional racism at Yorkshire, which have led to major cultural and personnel changes at Headingley.

  Vaughan repeatedly and categorically denied the allegations he faced, which had been supported by former Yorkshire player Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and current England white-ball specialist Adil Rashid.

  Vaughan said on Friday: "It has been both difficult and upsetting to hear about the painful experiences which Azeem has described over the past three years. The outcome of these CDC proceedings 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.

  "As with others who have spoken about their time at Yorkshire, I can only speak of my own experiences and of my own time there. The dismissal of the specific charge that concerned me takes nothing away from Azeem's own lived experiences.

  "The hearing made public that Azeem and I met 18 months ago, well before the CDC proceedings came into existence. I told him then that I am sorry for his unacceptable, negative experiences at the club I love and in the sport I love.

  "We had what I thought was a really positive and constructive discussion. We shook hands with a shared intention to work together in order to create positive change in cricket. For my part, nothing has altered in that respect. There is still a job to do and I remain keen to help bring about positive change in any way that I can."

  Vaughan added: "Now that the ECB's charge against me has been dismissed, I want to thank the panel for their careful attention in very difficult circumstances and to thank all of those who have given me their support during an incredibly difficult period in my life."

  The CDC disciplinary panel said in its decision: "The panel is not satisfied on the balance of probabilities that these words were spoken by MV [Vaughan] at the time and in the specific circumstances alleged."

  It added: "The panel has been required to concentrate on the focussed evidence presented to it by both parties in respect of one comment, made in two parts, on an afternoon now nearly 14 years ago.

  "This is not a case which necessitated a conclusion from the panel that anyone has lied or acted out of malice. Far from it, the panel had to consider whether the case as presented to it by the ECB, in light of all the evidence, was sufficiently accurate and reliable, on the balance of probabilities, to rule out mistake. It was not."

• South Africa v Netherlands preview: Proteas looking to secure World Cup berth

  South Africa will face the Netherlands in two ODIs that could define their entire year, aiming to seal their place at the World Cup.

  Following an exciting but disappointing 2-1 defeat against West Indies, the Proteas need to win both matches against the Dutch and hope Ireland lose at least one of their three clashes with Bangladesh in May.

  The top eight teams in the World Cup Super League automatically qualify for the World Cup in India, with the bottom five needing to go through further qualifiers with five associate teams.

  South Africa sit in 10th place, behind West Indies (eighth) and Sri Lanka (ninth), and ahead of Ireland in 11th, but two victories will take them up to eighth.

  Their matches against the Dutch will be the conclusion of a three-match series that was supposed to take place in late 2021, but following no result in the first contest, the second two were postponed due to concerns around a COVID-19 variant.

  Now that those matches are due to be played, South Africa find themselves needing to take them seriously and have selected a strong squad accordingly.

  Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, David Miller and Aiden Markram are among those to have been made available by Cricket South Africa despite their impending involvement in the IPL.

  "We have named our strongest possible squad for these games given the importance of these matches in the context of qualifying for the ICC men's Cricket World Cup," South Africa's white-ball coach Rob Walter said.

  "We have a job to do and I am confident that with this group of players, we can get the job done."

  The Netherlands bring the same squad that lost 2-1 in Zimbabwe, which included a dramatic one-run victory for the hosts in Harare in the second of their three encounters.

  Roelof van der Merwe could feature for the first time since the first match of this series against the nation he used to represent.

  Fast bowlers Paul van Meekeren and Fred Klaassen returned against Zimbabwe, but the Dutch will be without Brandon Glover, Bas de Leede and Colin Ackermann due to county commitments.

  De Kock looking to emulate Williamson and Warner

  Quinton de Kock (5,949) is just 51 runs away from becoming the seventh player to score 6,000 for South Africa in men's ODIs.

  Should he do so in the first match against the Netherlands, he will be the joint-third fastest player (139 matches) to reach the landmark in the history of the format with New Zealand's Kane Williamson and Australia's David Warner.

  Dutch looking for another rare win

  While they sit comfortably bottom of the World Cup Super League, the Netherlands can at least take solace in getting a rare win in their series against Zimbabwe.

  Their three-wicket victory on March 21 was the only win of their last 18 men's ODIs (L17).

• Archer unlikely to play any red-ball cricket before the Ashes

  Should Jofra Archer be selected for this year's Ashes series, he will likely be playing his first red-ball cricket in over two years.

  Archer is set to represent Mumbai Indians in the IPL, which culminates on May 28, with the first Test between England and Australia taking place at Edgbaston on June 16.

  England have a Test scheduled against Ireland on June 1, but should Mumbai go far in the IPL, it is unlikely Archer would be available.

  The pace bowler, who turns 28 on Saturday, has not played a Test match for England since a 10-wicket defeat to India in Ahmedabad in February 2021, with his last first-class game for Sussex being in May 2021 against Kent.

  Elbow and back injuries kept him on the sidelines for 17 months, but he returned to white-ball cricket in January.

  Sussex head coach Paul Farbrace believes England's plan is for Archer to be ready for the Ashes after the end of the IPL.

  "I think all things being equal, he will go straight into the Ashes off the back of the IPL," Farbrace told BBC Radio Sussex.

  "The England plan for Jofra is he'll go and play in the IPL.

  "I think their plan is that between IPL games he'll then bowl some longer spells to get his overs up and make sure that he is match-ready.

  "That's the nature of international franchise cricket these days. I know there'll be a lot of people saying 'he should play at least two four-day games to be ready for a Test match', but the preparation and the work that the medical teams do around these players is exceptional."

  Archer dampened expectations of significant involvement against Australia in early March, telling reporters: "If I can play one [Test] this summer, I'll be happy. If I play more than one, that's just a bonus."