Promotion priority for Tykes

Neither had the slightest inclination 12 months ago that they would now be the two men charged with the responsibility of righting the county ship after an unexpectedly stormy passage just when it appeared as if the club were entering calmer waters.

Even by Yorkshire's standards they have been through the mincer both on and off the field, but the hope is that the upheaval which brought in McGrath and Cope will signal the start of new and successful era.

It is hard to imagine now that at exactly this time last year Yorkshire were confident they would retain the County Championship and along the way rake in the cash from a new marketing set-up.

Yet not only did they plummet to the bottom of the table without a home will all season but things went so disastrously wrong financially that Yorkshire came within 24 hours of being put into receivership.

President Robin Smith saved the day by setting up the four-man Management Board - which includes himself and Cope - and convincing Yorkshire's 9,000 members that abolishing the general committee was the only way to salvation.

Cope, the sole survivor from the wreckage of that committee, was put in charge of cricket partly because of his undisputed knowledge of the game from his days as a Yorkshire and England player and partly because he was prepared to commit himself to the job full-time without pay.

The captaincy went to McGrath not because Darren Lehmann was stripped of the post, as is sometimes wrongly claimed, but because the Australian was unavailable this summer because of his Test match commitments.

At 26, Bradford-born McGrath is Yorkshire's youngest captain since Brian Sellers, from Keighley, took over the reins 70 years ago and if McGrath can one day look back and say he has achieved half of what Sellers' managed then he will be well satisfied - and so will the fans.

The road ahead will not be easy for McGrath now that Yorkshire have lost the vastly experienced Aussie combination of Lehmann and coach Wayne Clark, but he has made a good start and has been solidly supported by his team-mates, none doing more by way of encouragement than Darren Gough.

Cope and McGrath are unequivocal in their belief that the main objective for Yorkshire this season is to lift themselves out of the Second Division of the Championship at the first attempt in order to restore the pride which swelled chests in 2001 with the club's first title win in 33 years.

Walking off with the Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy last year was one huge consolation for Yorkshire and McGrath says he is keen to retain that silverware as well as to perform much better this time in the National League and also make a mark in the new Twenty-20 competition which has got to be taken seriously.

Yorkshire have been preparing and planning throughout the winter for the new campaign and few would disagree with Cope that if they can be at top strength then they are more than a match for anyone in either division.

Realistically, however, that will rarely happen because Michael Vaughan, for one, will more often be with England than Yorkshire and the same can almost certainly be said of Matthew Hoggard who should prove of greater value for his country on home pitches than he was on less helpful Australian tracks during the winter.

At the moment, serious question marks also continue to hang over several Yorkshire players whose presence in the side could make the difference between success and failure.

Two of Yorkshire's potentially strongest players are Craig White and Gavin Hamilton because each has the ability to win matches with either bat or ball but will they be regular performers?

White has undergone a rib operation which will keep him out of the England picture for at least three months, although Yorkshire hope he will return to their county side sooner than that.

It is just as important that Hamilton has now got over the psychological problems which prevented him from bowling last season and caused him to have

virtually a season without first team cricket.

At the moment, Hamilton looks his usually cheery self but only when he has done some serious bowling in a tough competitive environment will we know if he has sorted himself out.

So far, Cope has not made any moves to bring in a second overseas player to stand shoulder-to- shoulder with the admirable Matthew Elliott, who was arriving at Headingley from Australia today, but he may be forced to rethink now White could be out for a long spell.

Also as yet unanswered, is whether Gough will be able to stand up to the rigours of regular cricket after so long out with serious knee problems.

Gough has given 100 per cent in his preparations for a return with Yorkshire but he and the club know that if he breaks down again over the next three months his career will be over.

Yorkshire need runs this season from the talented, but under-achieving, Matthew Wood and other openers like Scott Richardson and Chris Taylor must start making an impact. All of the bowlers must enjoy a more productive season than last year when Ryan Sidebottom was the leading wicket-taker with only 41 dismissals.

All in all, McGrath has plenty on his plate - but so did the youthful Sellers when he took charge in 1933 and immediately led Yorkshire to the first of six titles under his command.

Updated: 10:19 Thursday, April 10, 2003