County Championship preview: Yorkshire

2009 in a nutshell Yorkshire looked last summer like a side ripe for break-up, as much of the summer surrendered to Matthew Hoggard's testy contractual negotiations and the soap opera of Michael Vaughan's retirement. They escaped relegation with relief. It is now time for Martyn Moxon to mould a young and capable squad. LV County Championship Division 1 7th Pro 40 Division 1 7th Friends Provident Trophy 3rd in Group C Twenty 20 Cup 5th in the North division What they'll be playing in this season LV County Championship Division 1 Clydesdale Bank Pro 40 Group B Friends Provident Twenty20 – North Captain Andrew Gale. Fate has conspired to give Gale the toughest of starts. Overseas fast bowlers are injured or unavailable, Ajmal Shahzad and Tim Bresnan are in England's Twenty20 squad and Matthew Hoggard has decamped to Leicestershire. April is overloaded with championship fixtures, the wet weather demands seam bowlers – and Gale barely has any left. Director of cricket Martyn Moxon. The time has come. Moxon can now make progress in rebuilding a new-look Yorkshire side, but he will need to be at his most phlegmatic to survive what could be a horrendous start to the season. Ins and outs In None Out Michael Vaughan (RET), Simon Guy (REL), Deon Kruis (RET), Matthew Hoggard (Leicestershire), Chris Taylor (RET) Overseas players Ryan Harris (Aus), Daryl Tuffey (NZ) and Herschelle Gibbs (SA) for Twenty20. Daryl Tuffey, Yorkshire's early-season cover, broke a hand against Australia and will be out until the end of April; Australian Ryan Harris has been instructed by Cricket Australia to rest until the end of May as Yorkshire suffer badly from cricket's jam-packed fixture list. The county are hunting replacements. Anybody out there bowl fast? Tino Best does. Yorkshire are chasing in desperation. Key player Adil Rashid's winter with England has darkened Yorkshire's mood. He became increasingly introspective on an inactive tour of South Africa and was then not chosen for a Bangladesh tour that would have given him a Test grounding. Yorkshire, extremely protective of a talented leg-spin/batsman, need him to respond with skill and spirit. Ashes factor Tim Bresnan had a doughty, dependable tour of Bangladesh, impressing Andy Flower with the sort of solid virtues that meant you could trust him to do a sensible job to the best of his ability. Flower, who called him the pick of the seamers, has now challenged him to push for a place in the Ashes squad. Prediction Sixth in Division 1. Expect a late-season flourish. Yorkshire have scraped two inches off the Headingley square to try to liven up pitches that have brought only two decisive results in two seasons. The benefits of that might come in late season, if the sun ever comes out and if the spinners can get to work. Until then they will have to bat for ever, pray for rain and cling on for grim death.