The return of championship cricket to St George's Road at Harrogate has become a distinct possibility with the news that Yorkshire are to reconsider their policy of playing all home matches at Headingley and Scarborough.

In reply to a question from member Ralph Patterson, Yorkshire president Sir Lawrence Byford told Saturday's annual meeting in Harrogate that he would welcome a re-discussion on the outgrounds and would be recommending this to the general committee.

A resolution at last year's annual meeting to return to the outgrounds was only narrowly defeated and Sir Lawrence's words will reassure those members who felt Yorkshire had tried to sweep the issue under the carpet.

This season's fixtures have long since been allocated but there is now a good chance that Yorkshire will be back in championship action on at least one of the outgrounds in 1999.

The favourite must be St George's Road where the Yorkshire League club are all geared up for a return. Other weighty factors in their favour must be that Yorkshire's new sponsors, Yorkshire Tea, are also based in the town, and that newly elected committee member Eric Houseman campaigned largely on an outgrounds' ticket.

Bradford Park Avenue, the home of Yorkshire's Academy, Acklam Park at Middlesbrough, and Abbeydale Park at Sheffield, will also look closely at whether they would like to see Yorkshire play championship cricket on their grounds again.

The packed meeting in the Majestic Hotel also appeared well satisfied with Sir Lawrence's pledge that it would be Yorkshire's members who eventually decided whether Yorkshire should stay at Headingley or move to new headquarters at Wakefield.

Sir Lawrence said that if the time came when a choice had to be made between two options then it would be left to the members, probably at a special general meeting.

He said that three private meetings had now taken place between Yorkshire and Leeds Cricket, Football and Athletic Company to explore the possibility of redeveloping Headingley and plans submitted by Leeds CFAC last week for planning approval would be closely examined shortly by Yorkshire.Meanwhile, the Wakefield development was on hold pending the resolving of issues with Leeds chairman Paul Caddick and the company.

Sir Lawrence said that the advice of leading counsel was that Yorkshire could move to Wakefield tomorrow if they wished but there was one problem and that was they must make sure they did not play more games at any home venue than were played at Headingley.

Yorkshire could also move to Wakefield tomorrow and build their own county ground but there was a risk if they pushed for it to become a Test match ground because Headingley might be able to claim that right within the terms of the present lease.

It was, however, the England and Wales Cricket Board who decided on which grounds Test cricket should be staged and it had already warned Headingley that they may not have a Test match if there continued to be misbehaviour.

Although Yorkshire have come in for some criticism of their handling of the Headingley-Wakefield issue over the past year, members gave overwhelming support to a resolution expressing total confidence in the way the club was trying to find a solution to the problems of obtaining headquarters/cricket stadium suitable for the next millennium.

Sir Lawrence, who stood down as club chairman at the end of the meeting, was relected president by 1,560 proxy votes to 398 against with a substantial majority in the hall voting for his nomination.

Members gave the necessary two-thirds majority to a resolution from Harrogate's Julian Vallance allowing Yorkshire to appoint full members of the club and those from some other categories on to the sub-committees. The aim is for Yorkshire to be able to benefit from the specialist knowledge of some of its 9,000 members.

Yorkshire chief executive Chris Hassell sympathised with members' complaints that the first two championship fixtures, both in April, had been allocated as home matches (v Somerset and Derbyshire at Headingley).

Hassell said it was very unsatsifactory but not Yorkshire's fault because the fixtures were compiled centrally by the ECB. It was the first time he could remember Yorkshire been given two home fixtures so early on and he would register members' objections at a meeting he was attending at Lord's within the next few days.

Cricket chairman Bob Platt and captain David Byas both strongly condemned Lancashire's failure last season to protect the Old Trafford pitch from overnight rain which resulted in the last day of the Roses match being wiped out. A win for Yorkshire would have been a big boost to their championship chances.

Byas assured everyone that Yorkshire's desire to win was as strong as ever and the team viewed it as essential that they got even closer to winning a trophy this season.

Left-arm fast bowler Paul Hutchison received the Jack Copcutt Memorial Trophy for being Yorkshire's young cricketer of the year.

Yorkshire's general committee hold their own annual meeting at Headingley today and Pudsey St Lawrence president Keith Moss is tipped to take over as club chairman.

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