By JMB
September 28 2006

David Byas continues in his role as director of cricket but the team he will oversee in 2007 remains far from certain. Richard Blakey's playing contract has been ended and Mitch Claydon has been released. Michael Lumb is pondering a new contract while Matthew Wood remains in the clubs plans. Although Byas' position at the club has been rescued by Yorkshire's escape from County Championship relegation, chief executive Stewart Regan has revealed that the County's new captain will be given greater responsibility. This seems to add weight to rumours that an overseas captain is being pursued with Younis Khan the favourite to take the reigns. The new captain will have more power than was given to Craig White, with Stewart Reagan stating "The key role at the moment is the captaincy because we want the captain next year to have greater responsibility. We want him to have the power and authority of some of the Yorkshire captains of old, someone who will take a much more active role in the direction of the first team. It gives someone the scope to have more influence, but we have yet to decide on who it will be. Again, there are a number of pieces that need to fit into the jigsaw, and we will make an announcement at the appropriate time."

It is possible that another person may be employed to assits the running of the first team. The current first team coach, Richard Blakey, has been told that his playing contract is not being renewed. Yorkshire insist Blakey has not been sacked, but declined to clarify his role and status. Blakey's future will be decided at a meeting next week and Stewart Regan stated that Blakey will "go away and think about things" during the next few days. Whether Blakey is thinking about a job offer or a future away from Headingley is unclear.

The county have parted company with Mitch Claydon, the Australian-born fast bowler who played just two Championship matches last summer before injury cut short his season. Claydon's wage demands, which Regan revealed would have put the 23-year-old on considerably more money than several of the club's established players, were the reason for his departure, which has interested Durham. Regan said of Claydon's departure: "Mitch's demands were over and above what we were prepared to offer given his experience. For someone who had made very few appearances it was the opinion of the club that those demands were not justified."

Rumours have recently suggested that Michael Lumb was on his way to Nottinghamshire and Matthew Wood was heading to Durham. Regan said "Michael has got a very attractive offer on the table and we are very confident he will be part of our plans next season, while Matthew still has a year left on his contract and is a very important member of our squad."

Regan went on to confess that the future of many people at the club is taking a little longer to resolve than he would like saying "In an ideal world we would have announced our completed plans for next summer and put an end to the speculation that is going on, but we cannot announce our completed plans until all the discussions are finalised. It's a bit of a jigsaw at the moment and we need to let events take their course. I don't know where all the conjecture is coming from, be it relating to the coaching staff or the players, and I am happy to confirm David Byas is director of cricket and there are no plans to change that. Yes, we've had a disappointing season in many ways, but there are a lot of positives on-and-off the field.