Shannon Gabriel's stay at Yorkshire could be extended

On July 5th, Yorkshire announced the signing of West Indies paceman Shanon Gabriel as an overseas player, replacing Haris Rauf for three Championship games in July. 

The Trinidadian signed a short-term deal for the three Championship matches of Yorkshire in July, but there could be a case where we might see him in the next four Championship games after July.

Darren Gough, the county's interim managing director of cricket, confirmed on Friday (July 8th) that Gabriel's short stint at the club could be extended for another four Championship games this summer.  

"If he impresses, we have another four Championship games in which he could play," Gough said. 

"We will have a look at him and see how things go. He's a good performer. We had a few options, but someone of his quality who we could have for the rest of the season was the standout one of those."

Gabriel's pace is going to be an asset for Yorkshire

The 34-year-old will be playing the next three matches for Yorkshire, including two at Scarborough, which is known to be one of the quickest surfaces in the country. The club wanted a like-for-like replacement of Pakistani pacer Rauf and said there is no better asset than Gabriel's pace for the two matches at North Marine Road.

"He brings us something we're desperate for, that is pace," added Gough. "I've been lucky enough to see Shannon a few times, including overseas when England have been touring the Caribbean. He bowls a heavy ball, and he has aggression."

This will be Gabriel's third County team in his first-class career, having played three matches for Gloucestershire in 2019 and two games for Worcestershire in 2015. Earlier this year, he had a pretty ordinary red ball season with the Red Force, where he could only manage one wicket in four games at an average of 162. His fitness has been one of the biggest reasons behind his lousy performance, and the paceman has been working his way back to full fitness for the Red Force in the West Indies Championship. 

Yorkshire are currently placed 5th in the Division 1 points table with five draws, one win and one loss in the first half of the County Championship. They will face Surrey in the next Championship game before making their trip to Taunton on July 19th and returning to Scarborough to host Hampshire from July 25th.