GEOFF Boycott has leapt to Darren Gough's defence and said: "I don't know of any committee man who is against Darren remaining a Yorkshire player.

"His relationship with the county has been soured for the last 18 months by comments on the England contracts made by Bob Platt, the cricket committee chairman, when he said that when Darren came back from a Test match he would not automatically be picked for Yorkshire.

"That was uncalled for and what the county have done to all their best players, tried to slap them down. It happened to Brian Close, Ray Illingworth and to me.

Speaking from his hotel in Cape Town, the former England and Yorkshire opener added: "Darren came to me in South Africa and was very upset by what had been said.

"In my view it was an irresponsible and uncalled for attack and if the committee had any balls they would have asked for Platt's resignation there and then.

"Players had no say in central contracts, it was the 18 counties that voted for them.

"I believe Darren should be playing for Yorkshire and that he is highly thought of and loved by the majority."

Also urging him to stay is stalwart Yorkshire member Geoff Holmes who is chairman of the Yorkshire County Cricket Club Supporters' Association.

"I have just written to Darren on behalf of the association thanking him for giving us a batch of his benefit brochures," said Holmes.

"I also told him that he had been part of the Yorkshire family ever since he was a lad and that it was a unique relationship, something which no other cricket set-up in the country enjoyed.

"I said I hoped he would continue to be part of the family because he would not find anything similar elsewhere."

Holmes said that at the last meeting of the association at Headingley he conducted a straw poll to see what members felt about Gough and the overwhelming majority wanted him to stay with Yorkshire.

"There was hardcore support within the Association for Darren but I wonder if there is a hidden agenda and I wouldn't be surprised if he was being "nobbled" by another county," he added.

"The fact that he now lives 150 miles away from Yorkshire and could have his eyes on a club nearer the family home in Buckinghamshire may also have something to do with it.

"Certainly at 31 Darren is not going to get any better as a fast bowler and it could be in his own interests to stay with Yorkshire."

Updated: 11:42 Tuesday, November 13, 2001