Moxon goes back to his roots

Martyn Moxon in action during his playing days at Yorkshire

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Yorkshire have confirmed the appointment of former captain Martyn Moxon as director of cricket.

The ex-England opening batsman returns to Headingley after resigning as head coach at Durham last week.

Barnsley-born Moxon, who played for his home county from 1981-97, served as director of coaching at Headingley after retiring from the first-class game, only to leave for Durham in 2001.

Yorkshire reportedly tried to lure the 46-year-old back three years ago but Moxon - despite still living in Wetherby, West Yorkshire - opted to stay with Durham.

He replaces previous director of cricket David Byas, who left the club in January, the responsibilities of his role having been split, and will concentrate on first-team affairs.

Martyn Moxon had no doubts about returning to Headingley

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“Whilst I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Durham and made good progress with the playing squad there, I feel it is now time to move on," said Moxon.

“The long journey to Chester-le-Street each day was becoming less enjoyable and when the opportunity came up to join Yorkshire I jumped at it.

“I spent over 20 years here at the club and cannot wait to get started in my new role.

“There’s so much good news around Headingley Carnegie right now and it will be fantastic to be part of the team at Yorkshire.”

Moxon will be assisted by Ian Dews, who has been promoted from Academy director to director of cricket operations.

Yorkshire finally ended their prolonged search for a new captain when they announced the return of Darren Gough last week.

Sussex’s Chris Adams had previously been paraded as the new skipper, only to have a change of heart and decide to stay on the south coast.

Darren Gough was installed as Yorkshire captain last week

Gough’s return was followed by the resolution of all-rounder Anthony McGrath’s long-running contract dispute.

Yorkshire chief executive Stewart Regan said: “It has been a particularly satisfying couple of weeks for the club and we are in extremely good shape now for the new season coming up.

“The Gough-Moxon partnership is a very exciting prospect and, with the excellent development and administrative skills of Ian Dews, we now have a first-rate management team which I am confident will take this club forward.”

Moxon impressed during his time at Durham, overseeing the county’s promotion to the first division of the County Championship and keeping them there.

As a player he scored 18,973 first-class runs in a career that included 10 Test matches and two one-day internationals.

His highest Test score for England was 99 against New Zealand in Auckland – an innings that should have been a century but three of his runs were credited as leg byes and never corrected.