31 October 1998
Derbyshire dismiss Cork's grumbles
By Neil Hallam
THE prospect of Dominic Cork carrying out his threat to resign as
captain of Derbyshire loomed large yesterday when the county's
committee dismissed the complaints he made in his lengthy public
statement before departing to Australia with the England touring
party.
Cork claimed that the club had reneged on their promise of
complete authority on playing matters and cited the cricket
committee's rejection of his recommendations on the composition
of the playing staff and a new first-team coach, a position he
wanted Kim Barnett to fill.
He also insisted that he would not remain as captain if the
former player Harold Rhodes, now a member of the general and
cricket committees, and Andy Hayhurst, the former director of
cricket, continued to exert influence on cricket matters.
While expressing a "unanimous wish" for Cork to continue as
captain for many years to come, a statement issued by the
committee yesterday disputed his claim to the final say on
cricket matters and pointed to "factual inaccuracies" in his
account of the situation.
The statement also apologised to Rhodes and Hayhurst for the
"adverse comments" made about them and said that the parameters
of the captain's role would be formally laid down before Cork's
return from Australia.
Victor Brownett, the chairman, for whom the committee's hawkish
response represented a personal defeat, would only add: "This is
the first stage of trying to resolve a very difficult situation."
Source :: Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk)