Cricket: Yorkshire may yet stay at Headingley

Yorkshire yesterday agreed to give Headingley a chance to serve the county as a Test and first-class venue for the 21st century.

The county club have been planning to move from Leeds to a new site in Durkar, near Wakefield, which they believed would ensure a healthy future for international and Championship cricket in Yorkshire. All along they have been locked in an argument with Headingley's owners - the Leeds Cricket, Football and Athletic Co Ltd - who want to redevelop the existing ground and have refused to waive Yorkshire's lease on the venue, which still has more than 80 years to run.

In a joint statement from Yorkshire and Leeds CF&A, both parties have now committed themselves to attempting to secure planning permission and grant funding for the redevelopment of Headingley, before plans for any alternative venue go any further.

"The parties are agreed that it is in their respective best interests to try and find a solution to the long-running dispute between them. They will explore the possibility of achieving a practical and financially viable redevelopment scheme," the statement said.