SHANNON Gabriel makes his debut for Worcestershire at Durham today and will become the 10th player born in the West Indies to play LV= County Championship cricket for the county.

Nine other West Indian players in a period stretching 63 years have turned out in championship cricket for the county.

Two stalwarts — batsman Ron Headley and paceman Vanburn Holder — are an integral part of the county’s history spanning 22 years in total.

Headley played for Worcestershire from 1958 to 1974 and was a member of the 1964, 1965 and 1974 Championship winning sides - and made a big contribution in all three seasons.

He amassed 1,697 first class runs in 1964 with four centuries and nine fifties and then 1,537 in 1965 with two hundreds and nine half-centuries.

Holder led the Worcestershire attack with distinction from 1968 to 1980 and ended his career with 950 first class wickets at 24.52 apiece.

Holder, who still lives in Worcester, took 109 test wickets with a best of 6-28 against Australia in 1977-78.