Ottis Gibson confident he’d get support to strengthen the Yorkshire team
OTTIS GIBSON is confident that he would have the backing of his Yorkshire paymasters if he wanted to sign another overseas player.
The county’s head coach said that he was optimistic that he would get the support of the club’s new board.
Yorkshire were hollowed out financially by the racism crisis but chair Colin Graves said at last week’s AGM that the club will be “fully stabilised” by the end of the month.
“We’ve already injected somewhere in the region of £4m into the club, and by the end of May there will be £6m/£7m invested into the club,” Graves told the Yorkshire members. “So, all our creditors are up-to-date and we’re in a position where we can run the club on an even keel without any financial worries and stabilise the club.”
Counties are permitted two overseas players in the County Championship but Yorkshire have just one - club captain Shan Masood.
Gibson admitted that discussions had been held about potentially signing another bowler, with Yorkshire having struggled to bowl sides out.
Yorkshire have won only four of 31 Championship games since the start of the 2022 season (discounting one complete washout) and are winless in four matches this year going into Friday’s fixture against Glamorgan at Headingley. They are currently two pace bowlers down in Matt Milnes (back) and Mickey Edwards (foot), although Gibson said he hoped Milnes might be ready for Sussex at Hove on May 17.
Asked if there was scope to sign another bowler, Gibson said: “We’ve discussed that. We’ve only got one overseas at the minute, so there’s perhaps an option for another overseas, but I’ll have to take that to the bosses upstairs.
“They’ve seen us play over four games now and we’ve had very good, open discussions, and I feel now that if I went to them and said I feel we need some help in the bowling department, I feel like I would get the support that I need to do that.
"We’ve got some very good bowlers, of course, but it’s something we could potentially look at.”