By JMB
January 10 2007

Yorkshire CCC is considering its position regarding Anthony McGrath after he announced he was leaving the club. Chief executive Stewart Regan said "We are now in discussions with our solicitors regarding the possibility of legal action." McGrath announced, through a press release, that he was leaving the club with immediate effect as his differences with the club had not been resolved.

Regan added that it was possible both McGrath and his agent could both be sued because the player is still under contract. McGrath, who is 31, had said in November he intended to leave the county after turning down a three-year deal which was described by the club as "lucrative with significantly improved terms". Legal action is available to the club because there is no transfer system in cricket, and McGrath still had two years to run on his existing contract.

It is another kick in the teeth to the cricket club and its fans. McGrath has recently turned down the offer of the captaincy and leaves the county vastly depleted after the departures of Michael Lumb and Darren Lehmann. McGrath who first played for Yorkshire in 1995 was a player the fans had hoped would carry the burden of senior pro and help the team through a sticky time.

McGrath had previously expressed unease at the management, however with the departure of David Byas and the offer of the captaincy, the club must have felt any qualms the player had raised had been dealt with. Yorkshire fans on The Corridor of Uncertainty have claimed for a while that there has been a hidden agenda and that McGrath had already been approached by at least one other club.

It is not yet clear whether McGrath has signed terms with another county, but Yorkshire insist they have done their utmost to keep him. In its statement, the club said: “Following our own legal advice, we have notified Anthony’s solicitor that we believe he is in breach of his contract in trying to terminate his agreement with the club in this way. We have tried endlessly to resolve the differences Anthony has with the club and feel very hurt that he has chosen to try and break his contract in this manner after being with us for so long. We are now in discussions with our solicitors regarding the possibility of legal action against Anthony and also prospectively against his agent regarding his role in this matter.”

During a protracted struggle over several months in 2001-02, John Crawley left Lancashire for Hampshire, but only after his old club received a five-figure sum as compensation.