Yorkshire cricket could be returning to Bradford Park Avenue.

The county is to reconsider the policy of playing all home matches at Heading-ley and Scarborough.

In reply to a question from Baildon member Ralph Patterson, Yorkshire president Sir Lawrence By-ford told Saturday's annual meeting in Harrogate that he would welcome a re-discussion on the outgrounds and would be recommending this to the general committee.

A resolution at last year's annual meeting to return to the outgrounds was only narrowly defeated, and Sir Lawrence's words will reassure those members who felt Yorkshire had tried to sweep the issue under the carpet.

This season's fixtures have long since been allocated, but there is now a good chance that Yorkshire will be back in championship action on at least one of the outgrounds in 1999.

The favourite must be St George's Road at Harrogate, where the Yorkshire League club are all geared up for a return.

Another weighty factor in their favour must be that Yorkshire's new sponsors Yorkshire Tea are also based in the town.

Park Avenue, of course, is home to Yorkshire's Academy of Cricket, and York-shire have taken charge of the ground for the next three years.

A lot of hard work will need to be done, however, to make a successful bid for a championship match, and one wonders if the Friends of Park Avenue's mainly mature members still have the energy to throw themselves into the whole-hearted commitment they have managed in the past.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.