Yorkshire have sprung a surprise move on the eve of the new season by appointing out-of-touch batsman Matthew Wood as first-team vice-captain.

The news was announced at the club's opening luncheon at Headingley yesterday by director of cricket Geoff Cope.

New captain Anthony McGrath had pressed for Wood to be made vice-captain and Cope said that he had been very happy to endorse the appointment.

But Cope later stressed that being given the vice-captaincy did not guarantee Wood a first-team place.

"Nobody in the squad can be absolutely certain of his place but Matthew is thrilled to bits at getting the job and the extra responsibility might help to clear his mind a little and allow him to concentrate more on his batting."

Huddersfield-born Wood, 26, was capped towards the end of Yorkshire's championship-winning season in 2001 when he topped 1,000 runs in the competition for the first time. But his form totally deserted him last summer when he was axed after making only 201 runs in 17 innings.

In the autumn, Wood contacted Rod Marsh in Australia to see if he could join up with the England Academy squad in Adelaide at his own expense - a request which was immediately granted.

On his return for pre-season nets at Headingley, Wood has benefited from one-to-one assistance from Michael Vaughan and he has responded with four half-centuries in warm-up matches.