Durham sign South African Codi Yusuf amid injury crisis

Durham have signed South African fast bowler Codi Yusuf in a bid to navigate a spate of injuries among their seamers at the start of their Rothesay County Championship campaign. Jake Ball, Somerset's former England quick, and Jack Blatherwick, from Lancashire, will also join on short-term loans.

Durham are currently without Brydon Carse, Sam Conners, Paul Coughlin, Daniel Hogg, Luke Robinson, Stanley McAlindon and James Minto, and suffered a further setback when prolific Proteas batter David Bedingham suffered a fractured toe against Warwickshire in the second round.

It is understood Bedingham's injury is not as bad as first feared, with Durham optimistic he will be available for their match against Hampshire at the start of May, ahead of South Africa's appearance in the World Test Championship final against Australia in June. Bedingham's absence for the time being opens up an overseas slot alongside Australian seamer Brendan Doggett, which Yusuf will now fill.

Yusuf, a 27-year old right-armer, joins for six rounds of the Championship, starting with Friday's trip to Worcestershire, and will also be available for the group stages of the Vitality Blast. He has yet to be capped by South Africa, but represented the A side over the winter, taking five wickets in their victory over England Lions in December.

Since debuting in 2019, Yusuf has taken 88 first-class wickets at 29.14, and arrives at Chester-le-Street off the back his most productive home summer to date, with 26 dismissals in seven matches for Lions. He has also taken 36 T20 wickets at 29.66, and has turned out for Paarl Royals in the SA20.

Durham's director of cricket, Marcus North, said: "Codi joins us on the back of a successful domestic season in South Africa and will strengthen our bowling attack over the coming months.

"With a number of our seam bowlers not available due to injury it was important we acted quickly, and we have done that with the addition of Codi Yusuf. We look forward to welcoming Codi to Durham and watching him play a key part on the field in the coming weeks."

Yusuf added: "I just want to thank Durham for giving me the opportunity to be part of their team for this season. It's been a dream to play county cricket for me, so I find it extremely special to be part of Durham.

"I know there are some special players in the changing room as well so I'm immensely excited to meet the players and be part of what looks like a very great environment."

Ball and Blatherwick, meanwhile, will be available for Durham during the next two rounds of the County Championship. Neither has played first-team cricket so far this season. "Going into the loan market was critical for us managing our injuries and current workloads of our bowlers," North said.

Worcestershire, who host Durham in their season opener at New Road this week, have also reinforced with the signing of New Zealand batter Henry Nicholls. The 33-year-old will be available to play in the Championship until the end of June.

"Henry is a proven performer at the highest level, and we're thrilled to have him with us for the next part of our Championship campaign," Worcestershire head coach Alan Richardson said. "His experience, temperament, and ability to play match-defining innings will be a fantastic asset to our squad as we look to start the season strongly."

Nicholls added: "I'm really looking forward to this opportunity with Worcestershire. I've always been a fan of county cricket, and to contribute to a team with such a rich history and passionate following is something I'm excited about. I can't wait to get started and help the team out."

Nicholls is expected to be involved against Durham, which will help compensate for the loss of Kashif Ali, who has been granted parental leave ahead of the arrival of his first child.