Posted: April 5, 2007
Former Yorkshire and Somerset off spinner Jeremy Batty is set to return to the JCT 600 Bradford League after signing for Division One side Baildon.
Batty, who previously played for Bradford & Bingley, Undercliffe and Gomersal, returns after playing his recent club cricket from Cublington near Leighton Buzzard in the Four Counties League.
Batty helped Cublington to win the Division Two title last season and finished the season as both the division's top run scorer and leading wicket taker.
Batty scored 619 runs with a top score of 111 and captured 40 wickets at an average of 7.37. He will form an interesting spin attack with Mushtaq Ahmed at Jenny Lane.
Another former Yorkshire player returning to the JCT 600 Bradford League is Former Yorkshire batsman Simon Kellett who has joined Division Two promotion hopefuls Undercliffe.
The experienced Kellett has been playing his club cricket in the York Senior League with Dunnington since being released by the county.
Another player with first class experience who is back in the league is wicketkeeper Lee Goddard who is returning to East Bierley after a season with Central Yorkshire League side Methley.
Goddard, who is also a hard-hitting batsman, made a number of First Class performances for Derbyshire last season. He took 17 catches and also made 209 runs with a top score of 91 against Essex at Chelmsford.
Goddard started his career with East Bierley and after a three-season spell at Spen Victoria, rejoined them in 2003.
The 24-year-old hit 602 runs for Methley last year including an impressive unbeaten 206 v Batley.
He will be a key member of a new-look batting line up at East Bierley which also includes the highly-promising Doncaster batsman Andrew Rennison who made 639 Yorkshire League runs last season with a top score of 128, the Saltaire opener Gharib Razak and former Saltaire and Undercliffe batsman Toby Drummond who has joined them from Aire-Wharfe League side Bilton.
East Bierley have also confirmed the signing of slow bowler Luke Jarvis from Aire-Wharfe League side Bilton.
Brighouse have recruited experienced wicketkeeper/batsman Mark Gill from Cleckheaton to strengthen their squad for the new season.
They have also recruited Gill's Cleckheaton colleague Souvik Bannergee and Undercliffe's talented all-rounder James Clarke who plays Minor Counties cricket for Lincolnshire. Farsley's Zahir Iqbal will add depth to the squad.
Yorkshire leg spinner Mark Lawson is rejoining ambitious Division Two side Gomersal. The England Under-19 player played all his junior cricket with before spending one season with Division One side Farsley.
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Bradley Parker |
Lawson played his club cricket with Yorkshire League side Scarborough last season and confirmation of his return follows the recruitment of prolific batsmen Bradley Parker and Richard Gould.
Former Yorkshire batsman Parker has also rejoined Gomersal after two seasons with Pudsey Congs and he will form a powerful opening partnership with former East Bierley captain Gould.
Parker has scored 12,874 Bradford League runs at an average of 39.26 while Gould has amassed 11,008 runs at an average of 39.04. They will surely be the scourge of Division Two bowling attacks.
Gomersal chairman Mick Baldwin said: "We are delighted to have Mark Lawson back at the club. He started out here in the juniors and his return has given everybody at the club a lift. We hope he can help us to challenge for promotion."
After the departure of Yorkshire players Andrew Gale from Cleckheaton to Driffield last season and Richard Pyrah (Woodlands) to the same club this year, it is a big boost for the JCT 600 Bradford League to have Lawson returning to play.
Champions Woodlands have unveiled two major signings as they bid to complete a hat-trick of JCT 600 Bradford League titles.
They have signed the prolific Elland opening batsman Sam Frankland to replace Russell Murray who has moved to Scotland. and recruited all-rounder Tosh Baker from Central Yorkshire League champions Wrenthorpe to replace Pyrah.
The 23-year-old Frankland made 969 runs for Elland last season with a highest score of 123 and an average of 51. He was also in the Huddersfield League representative side beaten by the Bradford League in the semi-finals of last season's Yorkshire Senior Leagues Knockout.
Baker, who has played all his previous Bradford League cricket with Spen Victoria, was second in the Central Yorkshire League bowling averages last season after taking 49 wickets at 13.86 apiece. He also made 403 runs for an average of 33.58.
Woodlands chairman Brian Pearson said: "We are delighted to have been able to replace Russell and Richard with two talented young cricketers."
With an eye to the future, Woodlands have signed all-rounder Tom Smallwood (16) and his 15-year-old brother Harry, an opening batsman, from Upper Wharfedale.
Hanging Heaton have bolstered their bowling attack by signing the Brighouse opening bowler James Stansfield.
Division Two continues to be the main focus for transfer activity with Undercliffe being the latest club to reveal significant signings. They have recruited former Baildon seamer Imran Amin, the experienced Darren Blenkiron from Bishop Auckland and Sam Brookes from Lutterworth.
Yeadon will be led for a second spell by all-rounder Grant Soames who has rejoined the club from East Bierley. Two members of last season's Yeadon side, wicketkeeper Luke Holroyd and Paul Mosey are moving to Windhill.
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Ian Wardlaw |
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Grant Soames |
Morley have signed Derbyshire batsman Chris Taylor to boost their hopes of a quick return to the top flight.
Taylor has been recruited from East Bierley and will join his younger brother Matt - signed from Spen Victoria, in the Morley line-up.
Chris had an outstanding first season with Derbyshire in 2006 and didn't play a single Bradford League game. Morley are hoping he will manage a couple this time as he has been one of the Bradford League's most prolific scorers in recent years.
Morley have also confirmed Shoaib Khan as their overseas player. He won the Division Two batting averages with Hartshead Moor last summer - his first in the Bradford League. They have also signed left arm opening bowler James Russell from Spen Victoria and been boosted by seamer Paul Kinder's decision to come out of retirement after just one season.
In addition to losing Shoaib Khan, Hartshead Moor seen opening bowler Ian Wardlaw, the Gordon Bowers Young Cricketer of the Year in 2005, join Cleckheaton.
Wardlaw was a member of the Bradford League side which reached the final of the White Rose Trophy last season and he played alongside Bankfoot wicketkeeper Michael Nicholson who is also joining Cleckheaton.
Another experienced player on the move is all-rounder Steve Lawrence who is returning to Division One with Farsley after one season playing at Yeadon.
