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Vishwa Fernando, a fast player from Sri Lanka, has been signed by Yorkshire for their next three County Championship games.
With 64 Test wickets at 33.09 in 23 outings, the left-arm seamer is expected to be eligible for matches against Gloucestershire, Derbyshire, and Northamptonshire. In two games for Durham last season, Fernando took seven wickets at a strike average of 22.42, helping the team win Division Two.
Fernando’s arrival will improve Yorkshire’s bowling options, since injuries have kept out Matt Milnes, Mickey Edwards, and Matthew Fisher. The team, who are currently sixth out of eight in Division Two, entered the most recent round having not won any of their previous five games since the season’s beginning, including a loss to Middlesex.
Fernando is expected to assist in launching a much-needed attempt at promotion. He played well in Sri Lanka’s 2-0 victory in the Test series against Bangladesh, which ended at the beginning of April. With 10 dismissals at 16.10, he finished second in the charts for taking wickets and will be considered for Sri Lanka’s tour of England later this summer. The first of three Tests will start at Emirates Stadium on August 21.
The 32-year-old has already met up with his county colleagues, who are playing at Hove right now against Sussex, and he will represent Yorkshire at Wantage Road against Northamptonshire the following week. Fernando, who was only signed on a red ball contract, will play again on June 23 when the Vitality Blast takes over the schedule for the County Championship. Before Fernando’s last match, which starts on June 30, in Chesterfield against Derbyshire, Yorkshire host Gloucestershire at Scarborough.
Alongside captain Shan Masood, he will represent Yorkshire in the Championship for the second time abroad. Donovan Ferreira, a South African, has already been confirmed as the nation’s abroad representative for the Blast.