YORKSHIRE chairman Colin Graves has pointed to the change in the club’s coaching structure at the end of 2011 as a primary reason for their LV= County Championship title success this year.

At the end of that season, things could hardly have been worse. They had been relegated to Division Two on the back of a host of poor displays from an under-performing squad.

It was clear that a change had to be made and that director of cricket Martyn Moxon needed assistance for the more hands on roles around the cricket department such as team selection.

Out went Craig White, John Blain, Steve Oldham and Kevin Sharp and in came Jason Gillespie and Paul Farbrace.

Gillespie was placed in charge of the first team and Farbrace the seconds, a job which Richard Dawson currently holds following Farbrace’s departure to Sri Lanka and then England last winter.

Rather than being in charge of first-team affairs on a day-to-day basis, added to other responsibilities with the seconds and the Academy, Moxon was able to spread himself more evenly.

“I believe that was one of the big turning points when we changed the whole coaching structure underneath Martyn,” said Graves.

“I have a lot of time for Martyn, a lot of respect, a lot of confidence in him.

But up until four years ago before Dizzy came, we had a coaching system that was creaking, it was a flat coaching structure. It wasn’t working.

“Martyn got sucked into a lot of things he shouldn’t have got sucked into. As soon as we changed it and put in a pyramid coaching structure, it worked.

“The main thing was we got the right people involved with Dizzy and Farby, and they took it forward in leaps and bounds.

That’s what we needed.

Martyn appreciates it now.

“I was pushing for him to do it two years before, but Martyn the way he is, he was loyal to the people around him. He said he could change and he wanted to change it, but when it didn’t start changing, then I took the decision.

“I said ‘right Martyn, my call now, time to change’, and it was the best thing we ever did.”