Let's finish on a high - Maiden

One of the options open to the governing body would be to relegate the club and/or to dock it points.

The situation is likely to drag on for a few months yet - and who knows what is going to happen to the club and to the various individuals charged in connection?

If relegation is the penalty, and that is purely hypothetical at this stage, then Yorkshire would prefer it to be at the ECB’s behest rather than by their own hand as they go into the final furlong of the season, one badly affected by the crisis in any case.

The situation heading into the first of four back-to-back Championship games starting with today’s Roses match at Old Trafford is this: Yorkshire are 17 points above second-bottom Somerset, who occupy the final relegation place, with bottom club Gloucestershire now cast adrift some 37 points behind their West Country rivals.

Yorkshire, in sixth, are two points above Kent and 12 points above Warwickshire, both of whom have only three games left.

As such, there is certainly no reason for Yorkshire to panic or to feel especially vulnerable but also no room for complacency, with games to come after this week against fourth-placed Essex at Headingley, leaders Surrey at The Oval, then wooden spoonists-elect Gloucestershire at Headingley in the final round.

Ali Maiden, the Yorkshire assistant coach, told The Yorkshire Post: “We’ve got to win some games of cricket, simple as that. We’ve actually played some really good Championship cricket this year and the team’s disappointment with itself is that we’ve dominated games, or been in strong positions in games, and not been able to get over the line.

“We want to finish well now with some positive results. That’s the aim. We want to compete against Lancashire and try and get a win there and finish the season on a high.”

Prior to losing three of their last four Championship fixtures (against second-placed Hampshire twice and leaders Surrey), Yorkshire had played some solid four-day cricket this year.

The chief problem has been a lack of wins - only one, in fact, in the first match at Gloucestershire. There have been six draws to go with that as Yorkshire have struggled to kill teams off.

“We’ve played some great stuff at times but not been able to force results,” added Maiden. “You think back to the Kent game, the Northants game, and so on - there’s been little moments where we’ve not been able to capitalise on them and our aim is to try and change that.

“When we broke up after the last Championship game and everyone went their separate ways, either off to The Hundred or for the Royal London Cup, some of the chat was ‘we go away, we play a different type of cricket, come back refreshed and ready to push for victories’. That’s basically what we’ll be aiming to do.”

While off-field issues have largely dominated, with the club still reeling from events of the past 12 months or so, Yorkshire have struggled to make tangible progress in terms of results. However, several youngsters are beginning to come on, gaining experience that will serve them well, and Maiden believes there is hope for the future.

“I hope people see it as a positive season so far,” he said. “There's a lot of things that could have gone the other way - in the Championship, especially - and we could have been in a much stronger position than we’re in now, but that’s cricket.

“The first year for us (the new coaching staff) was always going to be a bit suck-it-and-see. We got to T20 Finals Day, we were within a whisker of getting into the Royal London Cup knockout stages with a young team, we’ve played well in the Championship for long periods, and so on.

“We haven’t got silverware, which is a shame, but there’s been some real green shoots for us and players have gained important experience and exposure.

“The winter will be really important to us in how we move things forward, and there’s a lot of work to do and a lot of things we want to do as well.”

Building for next summer is well under way with the club having made a raft of new signings. There could be more to follow, along with departures, as a new-look side begins to take shape.

“The people we’ve brought in are all people we feel will add to the squad,” added Maiden. “Matty (Milnes) is a proven new-ball bowler, so that’s good. With the injuries we’ve had, he fits in really well. Jordan (Thompson) has done brilliantly opening the bowling and taking the new ball, but it’s not what he’s done in the past and he’s generally not been in that type of role. But we’ve had injuries and he’s stood up brilliantly.

“Ben (Mike) is another talented young cricketer we’ve been able to bring in who’s been in a number of counties’ thoughts. He’s got pace, he’s got raw ability, and our job at Yorkshire is to make that more refined to make him into the cricketer he wants to be.

“Obviously Shan (Masood) is a fantastic player. If we get him consistently, which is the hope, with him not being a regular international cricketer at the minute, if we can get him for the whole season, it’s a hell of a signing.

“Ottis (Gibson, the Yorkshire head coach) has worked with him at the PSL and spoken highly of him as being a really good fellow, a good character around the group, and he’s obviously an extremely talented cricketer.”

Yorkshire’s Roses squad: Bean, Bess, Coad, Duke, Fraine, Hill, Kohler-Cadmore, Lyth, Patterson, Revis, Shutt, Tattersall (captain), Thompson, Waite.