Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Anthony McGrath and general manager of cricket Gavin Hamilton are working hard on trying to find a replacement for Indian batter Ruturaj Gaikwad, who is no longer able to join the county.
Anthony McGrath says “there’s a lot of moving parts” for Yorkshire in terms of availability ahead of the county’s Championship clash with Surrey at Scarborough next week.
The head coach was speaking this evening after the White Rose’s thrilling Vitality Blast win over Leicestershire at the Uptonsteel County Ground, Grace Road.
Asked to look ahead to the resumption of the Rothesay County Championship, McGrath revealed the news of Ruturaj Gaikwad’s cancelled overseas deal, the Indian batter having to deal with a personal issue at home.
Gaikwad was due to debut at North Marine Road on Tuesday against the reigning champions and remain with Yorkshire until the end of the season.
McGrath says the county are assessing their options regarding a replacement, but there are other things to contend with as well ahead of the 10th round clash.
“Unfortunately Gaikwad’s not coming now for personal reasons,” said McGrath. “We’re not going to have him for Scarborough or for the rest of the season. So that’s disappointing.
“I can’t tell you anything about the reasons why, but we hope that everything’s ok.
“We’ve literally just found out.
“We’re working behind the scenes on what we can do. But it’s only two or three days away, so I’m not sure what we can do at the moment.
“We’re working to try and get a possible replacement, but time pressure is the issue. I can’t give you anything more than that at the moment.”
Jonny Bairstow and Dom Bess missed tonight’s Blast game at Leicestershire.
“Dom had a little bit of a niggle from the Roses game, and we just took a precaution with him,” explained McGrath.
“Jonny’s partner is due to give birth at any time, so we wish him and his family well.
“For Scarborough, we don’t know about that yet.”
And McGrath added: “Adam Lyth (calf) and George Hill (foot) have been doing some red-ball work this week, and we’re hoping they’re going to be ok.”
