Sidebottom Out As Reeve is Ushered in
September 25: Dermont Reeve will be confirmed as Yorkshire's new director in the next few days.
Dermot Reeve, startlingly, will be confirmed as Yorkshire's new director of cricket in the next few days and, if he needed proof of the challenge awaiting him in hostile climes, he only needed to be at Headingley yesterday.
A miserable Yorkshire season, in which they failed to win promotion back to the First Division of the championship, and were relegated from the National League, ended with a traditional end-of-season barney when Ryan Sidebottom, the former England left-armer, left the county in a fit of pique.
Yorkshire claimed Sidebottom's departure was "by mutual agreement" but that was about the only thing they have agreed upon during a mystifying last two months of the season when he was persistently overlooked despite finishing fifth in the first-class bowling averages. Worse could follow for the Sidebottom family, whose connection with Yorkshire stretches back 25 years. Father Arnie, like his son another member of England's one-cap fraternity, could also be vulnerable after proposals for a restructuring of the coaching staff were accepted by Yorkshire's management board yesterday.
Reeve will meet Yorkshire's players for the first time next week to discuss their winter programme before beginning the job in March. His determination to retain his TV commentary work will mean he will fulfil a supervisory role during the summer but it is an outside influence Yorkshire need and he will certainly be that.
Colin Graves, the chief executive, failed to confirm Reeve's tale. "We have been linked with everybody," he said. "We have read Alec Stewart, we have read David Byas and we have read Uncle Tom Cobbleigh and all."
"The Board has accepted a restructuring of the whole business - cricket, coaching, everything," Graves said. "We have got through a difficult financial year [Yorkshire have reduced debts from £7m to £6m] but we haven't been successful. The situation needs a fresh pair of eyes and a lot of motivation."
Reeve's appointment is a tacit acceptance that last year's reliance upon "Yorkshireness" was a mistake but there will be no incoming transfers. Yorkshire remain skint and are left to extol their Academy. "I would rather go the youth route even if there is another bad year next year," said Graves.
On Sidebottom's departure - Durham are the likely suitors - Yorkshire were uncompromising. The gist was that they preferred the likes of Darren Gough and Matthew Hoggard and he should have put up with it. "Losing Ryan is not a blow at all. We want people who run through a brick wall for Yorkshire," said Graves.
Yorkshire and brick walls, especially when it comes to banging heads against them, are old soul mates. Reeve aims to change the culture. It is quite a challenge.
County ins and outs
Sussex
Out: Bas Zuiderent
Targets: Ali Brown, Mohammad Akram, Ian Ward
Surrey
In: Neil Slater
Out: Alec Stewart, Ian Ward
Warwickshire
Out: Neil Smith, Melvyn Betts, Mohammad Sheikh, Waqar Younis
Middlesex
Out: David Alleyne, Ben Gannon, Abdul Razzaq, Robin Weston
Essex
Out: Darren Robinson, Barry Hyam, Andrew McGarry, Nick Denning, Joseph Grant
Nottinghamshire
Out: Usman Afzaal, David Lucas
Leicestershire
Out: Virender Sehwag, Devon Malcolm
Northamptonshire
In: Martin van Jaarsveld
Out: Mike Hussey, Tony Penberthy, John Blain, David Paynter, Tom Baker
Targets: Kevin Pietersen, Usman Afzaal
Gloucestershire
Out: Ian Harvey, Jonty Rhodes, Stephen Pope
Targets: Andy Bichel, Shoaib Malik
Yorkshire
In: Darren Lehmann
Out: Gary Fellows, Gavin Hamilton, Ryan Sidebottom, Scott Richardson, Pieter Swanepoel
Glamorgan
Out: Owen Parkin
Durham
In: Hershelle Gibbs
Out: Danny Law, Nicky Hatch, Nicky Phillips, Ian Hunter, Ashley Thorpe.
Somerset
In: Piran Holloway
Out: John Francis
Targets: Ian Ward, Ricky Ponting, Raul Dravid
Hampshire
In: Shane Warne
Out: Ed Giddins, Wasim Akram, Robin Smith John Francis,Iain Brunnschweiler, Simon Katich, Alex Morris
Targets: Dominic Cork, Ian Ward.
Derbyshire
In: Hasan Adnan, Paul Havell, Ant Botha
Out: Dominic Cork, Karl Krikken, Lian Wharton Jason Kerr
Target: Heath Streak
A miserable Yorkshire season, in which they failed to win promotion back to the First Division of the championship, and were relegated from the National League, ended with a traditional end-of-season barney when Ryan Sidebottom, the former England left-armer, left the county in a fit of pique.
Yorkshire claimed Sidebottom's departure was "by mutual agreement" but that was about the only thing they have agreed upon during a mystifying last two months of the season when he was persistently overlooked despite finishing fifth in the first-class bowling averages. Worse could follow for the Sidebottom family, whose connection with Yorkshire stretches back 25 years. Father Arnie, like his son another member of England's one-cap fraternity, could also be vulnerable after proposals for a restructuring of the coaching staff were accepted by Yorkshire's management board yesterday.
Reeve will meet Yorkshire's players for the first time next week to discuss their winter programme before beginning the job in March. His determination to retain his TV commentary work will mean he will fulfil a supervisory role during the summer but it is an outside influence Yorkshire need and he will certainly be that.
Colin Graves, the chief executive, failed to confirm Reeve's tale. "We have been linked with everybody," he said. "We have read Alec Stewart, we have read David Byas and we have read Uncle Tom Cobbleigh and all."
"The Board has accepted a restructuring of the whole business - cricket, coaching, everything," Graves said. "We have got through a difficult financial year [Yorkshire have reduced debts from £7m to £6m] but we haven't been successful. The situation needs a fresh pair of eyes and a lot of motivation."
Reeve's appointment is a tacit acceptance that last year's reliance upon "Yorkshireness" was a mistake but there will be no incoming transfers. Yorkshire remain skint and are left to extol their Academy. "I would rather go the youth route even if there is another bad year next year," said Graves.
On Sidebottom's departure - Durham are the likely suitors - Yorkshire were uncompromising. The gist was that they preferred the likes of Darren Gough and Matthew Hoggard and he should have put up with it. "Losing Ryan is not a blow at all. We want people who run through a brick wall for Yorkshire," said Graves.
Yorkshire and brick walls, especially when it comes to banging heads against them, are old soul mates. Reeve aims to change the culture. It is quite a challenge.
County ins and outs
Sussex
Out: Bas Zuiderent
Targets: Ali Brown, Mohammad Akram, Ian Ward
Surrey
In: Neil Slater
Out: Alec Stewart, Ian Ward
Warwickshire
Out: Neil Smith, Melvyn Betts, Mohammad Sheikh, Waqar Younis
Middlesex
Out: David Alleyne, Ben Gannon, Abdul Razzaq, Robin Weston
Essex
Out: Darren Robinson, Barry Hyam, Andrew McGarry, Nick Denning, Joseph Grant
Nottinghamshire
Out: Usman Afzaal, David Lucas
Leicestershire
Out: Virender Sehwag, Devon Malcolm
Northamptonshire
In: Martin van Jaarsveld
Out: Mike Hussey, Tony Penberthy, John Blain, David Paynter, Tom Baker
Targets: Kevin Pietersen, Usman Afzaal
Gloucestershire
Out: Ian Harvey, Jonty Rhodes, Stephen Pope
Targets: Andy Bichel, Shoaib Malik
Yorkshire
In: Darren Lehmann
Out: Gary Fellows, Gavin Hamilton, Ryan Sidebottom, Scott Richardson, Pieter Swanepoel
Glamorgan
Out: Owen Parkin
Durham
In: Hershelle Gibbs
Out: Danny Law, Nicky Hatch, Nicky Phillips, Ian Hunter, Ashley Thorpe.
Somerset
In: Piran Holloway
Out: John Francis
Targets: Ian Ward, Ricky Ponting, Raul Dravid
Hampshire
In: Shane Warne
Out: Ed Giddins, Wasim Akram, Robin Smith John Francis,Iain Brunnschweiler, Simon Katich, Alex Morris
Targets: Dominic Cork, Ian Ward.
Derbyshire
In: Hasan Adnan, Paul Havell, Ant Botha
Out: Dominic Cork, Karl Krikken, Lian Wharton Jason Kerr
Target: Heath Streak
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