Bob Appleyard, the former Yorkshire and England bowler, is urging Yorkshire's 9,000 members to vote for a first-past-the post system of electing the committee when the contentious subject is debated at next Saturday's annual meeting at Headingley.

Yorkshire have advised members to vote against the resolution and stick with the present district system, but Appleyard believes that only by changing to first-past-the-post can the club attract the sort of businessmen required to give the club a real financial boost.

Bradford-born Appleyard, who now lives in Ilkley and is an honorary life member of Yorkshire, said he wanted to see the same sort of people attracted to the committee that had formed the Friends of Park Avenue and had served on the Charitable Youth Trust which raised £364,000 for the Sir Leonard Hutton Foundation Appeal.

"Without the Friends, Bradford Park Avenue would not now be a thriving ground and headquarters of the Universities' Centre of Excellence, and without the Trust, hundreds of youngsters around the county would not be enjoying cricket coaching during the summer," said Appleyard. "It is only by getting people who have been highly successful in business on to the committee that Yorkshire can hope to raise money for commercial development.

"If business people do not come forward in this way then the next step may have to be for Yorkshire to become a plc.

"The present system of district representation means that members can only vote for candidates in their own area and it does not encourage business people to stand because they cannot be elected by the whole of the membership." He added: "The present system of club management is outdated and unable to cope adequately with the new financial and commercial situation."

The first-past-the-post resolution is being proposed by former committee representative Philip Akroyd and seconded by Bradford member Geoff Holmes.

If it wins a straight majority, Yorkshire will be forced to draw up a rule change which will then require a two-thirds majority at next year's annual meeting for the district system of election to be abolished in favour of first-past-the-post.