Yorkshire appear poised to call in David Byas as cricket supremo in an attempt to restore the club's fortunes and bring back the glory days of 2001 when they won the County Championship under his captaincy for the first time in 33 years.

Although Yorkshire would neither confirm nor deny Byas's appointment yesterday, there are indications that talks are at an advanced stage and that a deal is imminent.

Yorkshire president, Robin Smith, said: "We have been looking at the restructuring of cricket management since the end of last season.

"Geoff Cope carried the responsibility last summer and the Management Board felt there should be changes.

"There are a number of personalities we have talked to and one name has emerged as clear favourite."

Byas has never made any secret of the fact that he would enjoy being involved again if the circumstances were right.

Yorkshire went into decline from the moment Byas quit at the end of his glory season after being told he would not be re-appointed captain in 2002.

There has been speculation for a while that he could return in some minor capacity but if he is given the full-time role of Director of Cricket it will delight the fans as well as spell out Yorkshire's determination to put behind them the horrors of the last two seasons.

Since Byas took the catch against Glamorgan on his home ground of Scarborough that clinched the title for Yorkshire on August 24, 2001, the team have only won six out of 34 Championship games.

Yorkshire plunged from being champions to finishing bottom in 2002, suffering relegation for the first time.

The new Management Board confidently predicted that Yorkshire would gain instant promotion this year but they could not manage it, even though they were in with a chance until rain at tea-time forced a draw against Gloucestershire on the final day of the season.

New captain Anthony McGrath said Yorkshire could have no complaints because they had not played consistently well enough to deserve promotion.

Another bonus for Yorkshire next season will be the return of Australian Darren Lehmann, who has always got on extremely well with Byas.

The reason Byas lost the captaincy was because Yorkshire's Aussie coach, Wayne Clark, felt that Lehmann could do a better job. But Yorkshire failed to win a Championship match under Lehmann's leadership in 2002.

Clark, who also had much to do with Yorkshire winning the Championship and lifting the Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy the following season, had his contract terminated last winter, and although Cope worked hard as Director of Cricket he also had other responsibilities and found himself unable to improve results.