Yorkshire interested in Olly Stone prior to Nottinghamshire move, says Darren Gough

Last summer, Stone turned down a new contract from Warwickshire in favour of a three-year deal at Trent Bridge. Gough, who has signed three pace bowlers ahead of the 2023 season, said Stone was "just out of my reach"

Darren Gough was interested in luring Olly Stone to Yorkshire before being pipped to his signature by Nottinghamshire. 

In July, the 29-year-old turned down a new contract with Warwickshire, whom he joined in 2017 from Northamptonshire, in favour of a three-year deal at Trent Bridge. 

A series of stress fractures limited Stone to 55 appearances across all formats for Warwickshire, yielding 124 wickets. In 44 first-class appearances across his career, he has taken 150 wickets at 24.78.

While commentating on the SA20 opener between Paarl Royals and Stone's MI Cape Town, Gough, Yorkshire's managing director, said: "I was definitely interested being at Yorkshire, to get him there. Obviously, he is an impact player on a good salary and he was just out of my reach. Notts nipped in as they normally do."

^{Bowling played a big part in Yorkshire's relegation, believes Gough [Getty Images]}

Yorkshire have not been shy in recruiting bowlers for 2023, with Ben Mike (Leicestershire) and Matt Milnes (Kent) both signing three-year contracts over the summer. New Zealand international Neil Wagner, meanwhile, will be available for the first 10 matches of the County Championship season. 

Pace bowling was a problem for Yorkshire last season, with Gough identifying the club's failure to bowl teams out, particularly in the second innings, as a major contributing factor to their relegation. 

"If you can't bowl a team out twice and you can't get 220 to stay in the division on your home pitch against Gloucestershire, who had already been relegated, then we deserved to be relegated," Gough told The Cricketer. "We got ourselves into good positions but couldn't bowl a team out twice.

"[Haris Rauf] was quick and energetic; he gave us a bit of steel in that first few games. I promise you, [that attack] wasn't bowling anyone out without Haris in the side."

Injuries also hampered Yorkshire's bowling, with Matthew Fisher (back) restricted to just two appearances and Ben Coad – who has taken 210 wickets in 53 first-class outings for the club – absent for the first nine matches due a groin problem. 

In their respective absences, a number of overseas signings, including Shannon Gabriel and Dominic Drakes, were parachuted into the XI while Jordan Thompson wore himself out as Yorkshire's attack leader, bowling 421 overs – nearly 100 more than the previous season – and taking a team-leading 42 wickets at 34.73.