YORKSHIRE County Cricket Club's members were attending a much changed annual meeting at Headingley today following the abolition of the committee in December and its replacement with an all-powerful four-man Management Board.

It could also be the last annual meeting at which members can exercise any real power if a decision is taken later in the year for Yorkshire to become a plc.

Any such move, however, would require a two-thirds majority of support from members at a special general meeting and chief executive Colin Graves and finance director Brian Bouttell looked certain to be grilled today about the likely benefits of going down that road.

Otherwise, the 'Gang of Four' seemed to be in for a relatively easy ride, despite the annual accounts revealing a massive loss last year of nearly £1.3m.

Graves is head of the Dunnington-based Costcutter supermarket chain who was brought in by Yorkshire last year to help get the club out of its financial difficulties.

It was the haemorrhaging of money which caused the club to totter on the brink of bankruptcy until the Management Board stepped in but Bouttell had encouraging news for the members today when he was able to report that he anticipated a positive cash flow this year of around £78,000.

The meeting was expected to elect Bob Platt, York-based Phil Sharpe and Michael Crawford as honorary life members and make vice-presidents of former club chairman, Keith Moss, Tony Cawdry, Sid Fielden, Jack Sokell, Peter Townend and David Welch.

Cawdry and Fielden, along with Robert Hilliam, Eric Houseman, Rob Lolley, Simon Parsons, David Tunbridge and Tony Vann, were hearing which four of them would fill the elected places on the new members' committee.

The other four members of the eight-strong committee will be appointed by the Board at their next meeting.

The committee will look after the interests of the Yorkshire's 9,000 members but the actual running of the club will remain firmly with the Board.

Meanwhile, Yorkshire continue to make encouraging progress in their build-up to the new season.

This week's fine weather has meant that the players have been able to practice regularly in the outdoor nets and if the dry spell continues everyone should be in good shape for the Championship curtain-raiser against Northamptonshire at Headingley, starting on Good Friday, April 18.

Updated: 12:07 Saturday, March 29, 2003