Yorkshire chief executive Stewart Regan has revealed the club are looking to bring in a replacement overseas signing to cover the absence of Ryan Harris for the first month of the county season.

But he does not expect that player to be former Tyke and current South Africa pace bowler Morne Morkel.

“Andrew Gale has made it very clear that he would like a strike bowler for the first month of the season,” said Regan.

“When the fixture list came out we realised that there would be a quarter of the Championship season in the first month and it was important that we looked at having the right player in place.

“We are looking at who’s available but there are no developments to report yet.

“Morne is on the radar but we have discussed it with the South African cricket authorities. Morne is likely to be involved in international cricket for the periods that we are looking for him to come.

“As much as we would like to have him, I think it is unlikely that he is someone who will be at Yorkshire next season.”

Regan has also revealed that the search for a specialist Twenty20 overseas player is still ongoing and that the club have already pulled out of one deal due to issues with red tape.

“We’ve had a look at a number of players over the past couple of months,” he said.

“We had agreed terms with a player but decided not to pursue to the contract stage. It was our choice and we decided to carry on exploring our options.

“We want a player who we can be absolutely sure will be available to turn up at the beginning of June and be available to play. That will be a major issue for a few clubs at the moment.”

Director of professional cricket Martyn Moxon has previously said that he is targeting a “high-impact batsman” for that particular slot.

Regan was speaking at the launch of the North Yorkshire ‘Playing for Success’ scheme at Headingley.

The initiative aims to raise achievement in literacy, numeric and ICT skills for children who are at risk of underachieving, using the stimulus of cricket to motivate them.

The scheme is the first of its kind in the country, delivering cricket-themed classroom work and cricket coaching to schools.