Worried Regan's calls for Yorkshire plan of attack (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Worried Regan's calls for Yorkshire plan of attack

9:12am Wednesday 21st June 2006 in Sport By David Warner

Concerned Yorkshire chief excutive Stewart Regan has asked captain Craig White and director of cricket David Byas to come up with a plan that will hopefully take the team to their first Championship win of the season in the match against second-placed Sussex, which starts at Arundel today.

The game marks the half-way stage of the campaign and Yorkshire are currently propping up Division One after seven matches which have resulted in three draws and four defeats.

Regan, who joined Yorkshire from the Football League in March, said: "I don't want people to panic but we are bitterly disappointed with the way the season has started. I didn't think we would get to this stage without a win in the Championship and I am desperate for the players to put it right.

"Behind the scenes we have had a lot of internal discussions about what has been happening. One or two players that we have brought in haven't delivered the goods yet, so I have asked the captain and director of cricket to hold discussions with the senior players and come forward with a plan for our important match with Sussex.

"I am not going to knee-jerk at this stage into making any decisions that would affect the cricket personnel as we are only halfway through the season but I would point out that we have got ourselves into this mess and the players need to get us out of it."

Michael Vaughan and Matthew Hoggard have boosted Yorkshire's cause by facing Sussex but out-of-form Matthew Wood has been axed.

Left-hander Andrew Gale retains his place and all-rounder Chris Gilbert joins the 12 after his impressive bowling in the C&G Trophy last week when he took three for 33 against Leicestershire.

Unfortunately for Byas, neither of his two close-season signings have yet produced the goods.

Australia Test bowler Jason Gillespie has managed only 11 Championship wickets at 52.18 runs apiece and wicketkeeper-batsman Gerard Brophy, from Northamptonshire, has not scored enough runs or looked in great form behind the stumps.

To make matters worse, South African Deon Kruis has been a shadow of what he was in his debut season last year, when he grabbed 64 wickets and played a big part in the team's promotion.

Wood and Joe Sayers, who began the season as Yorkshire's regular openers, are both currently languishing in the second team and the stage has now been reached where young players will come in from the second team if they are scoring runs and taking wickets which is why Gale and Gilbert find themselves in the squad.

Yorkshire (v Sussex) from: White, Vaughan, Gale, McGrath, Lumb, Lehmann, Brophy, Dawson, Hoggard, Gillespie, Kruis, Lawson, Gilbert.