YORKSHIRE left-arm fast bowler, Ryan Sidebottom, has quit Yorkshire after being unable to resolve a disagreement with the club.

His departure is expected to be officially announced at Headingley tomorrow when Yorkshire give details of their retained list which is likely to show that the cricket staff will be cut by up to seven players next season.

Sidebottom, 25, who was unavailable for comment, was easily Yorkshire's leading wicket-taker this summer with 35 Championship victims at 20.28 runs apiece until spraining his ankle while practising one morning during the game against Hampshire at Scarborough in late July.

Since then, Sidebottom has either been out injured or dropped and his only appearances have been in two National League outings but he still finished the season as Yorkshire's top bowler in the competition with 15 wickets at 22.20.

Reports have circulated for some time that Sidebottom has not been happy in recent weeks and things apparently reached a head last week when he was seen at Headingley for the last time.

Sidebottom, who played one Test for England against Pakistan at Lord's in 2001, will not be short of offers because he is certain to be high up the shopping list of several counties when they know he is available.

Son of former Yorkshire fast bowler, Arnie, now Yorkshire's second team coach, Ryan made his debut for the county in 1997 and was capped three years later.

He has taken 163 first class wickets for Yorkshire at a respectable average of 25.12 and his best return of 7-79 was achieved against Derbyshire at Headingley earlier this season.

In all one-day matches, apart from Twenty20 cricket, Sidebottom has played in 100 games and captured 104 wickets at 29.51, his best analysis being 6-40 against Glamorgan at Cardiff in the National League in 1998.

There is no shortage of speculation over what Yorkshire plan to do to bring about an improvement next season and one rumour doing the rounds is that former Warwickshire captain, Dermot Reeve, who led the county to a string of trophy successes before retiring and spending time as coach at Somerset, will have some involvement.

Michael Parkinson's name is being suggested as the management board's choice of club president for next year but in view of his campaign to cut the Championship programme this may not prove to be a popular nomination with the majority of members if it ever comes about.

Updated: 11:09 Tuesday, September 23, 2003