Yorkshire entered the New Year in a state of flux with a number of important posts yet to be filled but on a more positive note the club was able to announce that a 21-strong party of players and coaching staff will spend five days in La Manga in late March tuning up for the new season.

"Full-time training resumes at Headingley Carnegie at the beginning of March and after three weeks in the nets the players will head for La Manga on March 26," said chief executive Stewart Regan.

"Coaches Kevin Sharp and Steve Oldham are organising the trip which will serve as a bonding exercise as well as getting in some useful practice and the pair have also fixed up a two-day friendly against Derbyshire during the second week in April.

"The game will be staged at home but whether it will be at Headingley or on one of the outgrounds has not yet been decided.

"The coaches are also looking at the possibility of another friendly fixture and everyone is determined that the players will be ready for action when the season starts with the Championship match against Surrey at The Oval on April 15-17."

Yorkshire are now keen to return to something like normality after all the close season upsets and they are to advertise nationally for a director of professional cricket.

"There has already been a lot of interest in the post but we want to cast our net more widely in order to give those people who may be unaware of the vacancy a chance to respond," said Regan.

He confirmed that Yorkshire are continuing to look for a quality batsman, either from at home or abroad, and said that if the right person were also a potential captain he could be invited to lead the side.

But Regan did not discount the possibility that Jason Gillespie could be offered the job or that it could go another member of the current playing staff. If that were the case, then the experienced Matthew Wood or the younger Joe Sayers would probably be the leading candidates.

Gillespie would no doubt relish the extra responsibility that the captaincy would bring. He had been due to lead Australia's President's XI in their match against England before the start of the Ashes series but then had to pull out because of an injury.

One of the first jobs Regan has got pencilled in for the New Year is to hold a final meeting with David Byas to see if he is prepared to accept the new role he has been offered as director of cricket development.

Byas appeared to have cleared his desk at Headingley during the latter part of December and the likelihood is that his days with Yorkshire will soon be officially over.