Gibbs sets century target to give Yorkshire lift-off

Namely, a maiden Twenty20 century and the South African is determined to put that right during his stint with the White Rose county.

Gibbs, a veteran of 90 Tests and almost 250 one-day internationals, has been brought in to try and propel Yorkshire Carnegie towards a first appearance in the Friends Provident Twenty20 Cup finals day.

The 36-year-old, who also boasts the distinction of having hit six sixes in one over against England in the World Cup, will make his bow tomorrow against Derbyshire Falcons at Headingley.

While taking time to talk to the Yorkshire Post during yesterday's final day Roses washout, Gibbs admitted a major target is to improve on a Twenty20 record that includes an unbeaten 98 in domestic cricket and a top score of 90 for South Africa.

He said: "I have always enjoyed playing cricket in the UK and although it seems the weather up north has not changed, it feels right to be here.

"I met the lads (on Monday night) for the first time and the confidence seems good. They are excited about the Twenty20.

"I have played a lot of cricket in my life but I am probably enjoying it even more right now. I am a lot more outspoken and I try to help the younger ones out a lot more. I like to lead by example.

"I also have things still to prove with regards the South African selectors. There is a lot I still want to accomplish.

"I am still waiting for my first Twenty20 hundred. In order for me to finish my career happy, I need to have hit at least a few of them and I would love to achieve it in the next few weeks."

Yorkshire will go into the Twenty20 Cup on the back of a disappointing draw in a rain-affected 250th Roses encounter.

No play was possible on yesterday's final day due to the steady rain that started falling at 10am, meaning Andrew Gale's men were unable to add the one run required from the overnight score of 199-8 that would have been enough to earn an extra bonus point.

The upshot was Nottinghamshire were able to pull level on 103 points and take over at the top of the County Championship by virtue of having won more games.

Despite that and the disjointed nature of Yorkshire's display against Lancashire, there are still plenty of grounds for optimism with the White Rose sitting proudly on top of Group B in the Clydesdale Bank 40 one-day competition.

Now, however, the focus switches to the shortest form of the game with tomorrow's meeting with the Falcons being followed 24 hours later by a trip to Worcestershire Royals.

Carnegie will be without Ajmal Shahzad, who last night rejoined the England squad ahead of Friday's second Test against Bangladesh, and Tim Bresnan after the latter was revealed to have suffered a stress fracture in his left foot.

England last night confirmed Bresnan's injury will be assessed but the indications are that he will be out of action for a month.

Yorkshire will, though, be able to hand debuts to Gibbs and Clint McKay, the 27-year-old Australian pace bowler who completes the White Rose's

overseas quota for the tournament.

For Gibbs, Carnegie will be the latest side he has played for in domestic Twenty20 cricket after stints with Cape Cobras, Glamorgan and the Indian Premier League franchise Deccan Chargers.

Asked what the Yorkshire cricket public can look forward to, the South African said: "They can expect a complete professional approach.

"I want to entertain as much as I can and I would like for them to enjoy the experience with me.

"There will be ups and downs, but I have a good feeling there will be a lot more ups than downs."

McKay, meanwhile, is expected to miss around half of Yorkshire's 16 Twenty20 games due to being called up for Australia's one-day squad.

Despite that, the pace bowler is hoping to make a big impact and help his new side repeat the success of state side Victoria Bushrangers, who triumphed in last year's Big Bang tournament Down Under.

He said: "I am here to improve my skills and also to help Yorkshire win the title. That is what we are here to do, to win tournaments.

"Yorkshire have had a great start in two forms of the game and, hopefully, we can maintain that.

"The key in Twenty20 is to remain calm and execute your skills. Games can change in one or two overs but if we remain calm then we will be fine."

ROSES SCOREBOARD

Division One

Yorkshire v Lancashire

Headingley Carnegie: Yorkshire (5pts) drew with Lancashire (8pts)

Overnight: Lancashire 416, Yorkshire 199-8. No play yesterday, rain

Lancashire First Innings

P J Horton c A U Rashid b Hannon-Dalby 24

S C Moore b Shahzad 43

A G Prince c A U Rashid b Patterson 78

M J Chilton c Rudolph b A U Rashid 42

S J Croft c Gale b A U Rashid 15

T C Smith not out 108

L D Sutton lbw b Patterson 20

G Chapple st Bairstow b A U Rashid 29

S I Mahmood lbw b Shahzad 3

K W Hogg st Bairstow b A U Rashid 37

Extras b5 lb9 w1 nb2 17

Total 9 wkts dec (128.2 overs) 416

Fall: 1-53 2-104 3-185 4-198 5-225 6-276 7-324 8-337 9-416.

Did not bat: S C Kerrigan.

Bowling: Shahzad 29 3 87 2, Best 14 1 49 0, Hannon-Dalby 16 1 52 1, A U Rashid 36.2 6 121 4, Patterson 20 8 48 2, Sayers 13 1 45 0.

Yorkshire First Innings

A Lyth b Chapple 0

J J Sayers lbw b Smith 10

A McGrath lbw b Chapple 4

J A Rudolph c Sutton b Smith 30

A W Gale c Prince b Smith 9

J M Bairstow c Smith b Kerrigan 29

A U Rashid lbw b Smith 65

A Shahzad not out 38

T L Best c Hogg b Kerrigan 12

S A Patterson not out 0

Extras nb2 2

Total 8 wkts (63 overs) 199

Fall: 1-0 2-4 3-40 4-54 5-55 6-123 7-170 8-191.

Did not bat: O J Hannon-Dalby.

Bowling: Chapple 6 3 6 2, Mahmood 12 2 53 0, Smith 15 5 46 4, Hogg 11 3 36 0, Kerrigan 19 3 58 2.

Umpires: N G C Cowley and B Dudleston.