Yorkshire remain behind Moxon

Moxon said he was already planning for next summer with chairman Colin Graves and the Yorkshire board, while at the same time trying to save the club from County Championship relegation.

The former Yorkshire and England opening batsman has come under fire from a section of supporters during a turbulent campaign for the White Rose county.

But Moxon is grateful for the support of his superiors and is busily identifying potential new signings, which are thought to include a bowler and possibly a batsman, as finances relax a little following a period of belt-tightening at Headingley Carnegie.

The news comes ahead of today’s penultimate Championship match of the season against Warwickshire at Edgbaston, with second-bottom Yorkshire occupying the final relegation place – one place and two points behind Worcestershire, who have a game in hand.

“When you’re not winning, the management comes under the cosh whatever sport it is,” said Moxon. “I fully accept that and it’s part and parcel of the job.

“I can fully understand people having a go when the results have been disappointing, but I firmly believe in what we’re trying to do here and the board are fully supportive of what we’re trying to do.

“We are already planning for next year and trying to build for the long-term, and there are areas of the team we’re looking to strengthen.”

Moxon has been stymied this year by the lack of an overseas player until only recently, when South African Jacques Rudolph returned on a short-term contract.

Rudolph is not available for this week’s match – he is back in South Africa on a national training camp – but he is booked to fly back to England in time for the final Championship game against Somerset at Headingley Carnegie, starting a week today.

The absence of Rudolph’s runs, allied to disappointing returns from several established players, has made Moxon’s task a difficult one as the club have failed to recapture the heights of last summer, when they went so close to winning the Championship. But despite a disappointing season all round, Moxon believes Yorkshire “are not a million miles away” and pledged they would continue their policy of developing home-grown talent, which has paid handsome dividends with the emergence of such as 20-year-old batsman Joe Root.

“We knew going into this season it would be a challenge,” added Moxon.

“We’ve not had the money for an overseas player for much of the year and our strategy is very much to build for the long term.

“We always knew there was a risk that, if things went wrong, we might be in the sort of position we find ourselves in now. But we went into the season with our eyes open.

“I had a meeting with the chairman the other day and we are very much looking to the future.

“Everyone is committed to building a team that will be successful for a long period of time – not just a one-hit wonder.

“Whatever happens in the next two weeks, and obviously we will trying our hardest to stay in the First Division, we’ve learned a lot about the players and it has been a learning curve.

“But although it has been a challenge and a very difficult one at times, it hasn’t all been bad by any means and there has been a lot of good stuff in there as well; we’ve definitely competed in most games.”

A young Yorkshire side have certainly displayed fighting qualities in adversity, such as when they battled to an improbable draw against Sussex at Hove in June.

So much so, it was a shock when that fighting spirit was not evident during last week’s innings defeat to Warwickshire at Headingley.

It was by far the club’s worst Championship performance of the season and provoked some impassioned words from Moxon, who understandably branded it “spineless” and “embarrassing”.

But Moxon was heartened by a positive reaction in Sunday’s six-wicket win in the CB40 against Worcestershire, which has sent Yorkshire into today’s game in considerably better heart than might have been the case following the sorry Championship defeat.

“The lads bounced back well on Monday and they are determined to finish the season strongly,” he added. “We’ve got a lot of work to do, but, if we play to our capabilities, we can win our last two games without a doubt.”

With Yorkshire captain Andrew Gale injured with a broken arm and Rudolph unavailable, opening batsman Joe Sayers will lead the side at Edgbaston.

Yorkshire are without Rich Pyrah, who has a shoulder injury.

Ajmal Shahzad is set to make his first Championship appearance for a month following an ankle injury, while batsman Adam Lyth is poised to play his first Championship match for almost two months.

Jonny Bairstow returns after missing last week’s Championship fixture due to England commitments.