JCT 600 Bradford League overseas players 2008

Posted: April 20, 2008

The full list of overseas players has been confirmed and it shows that four clubs have decided not to engage one for the 2008 season.

Three high-profile Division One clubs, Baildon, East Bierley and Pudsey St Lawrence will not be having an overseas professional and neither will Division Two side Keighley.

Woodlands' highly-successful opening bowler Safraz Ahmed is back for an eighth season and he is easily the longest serving of the 'foreign legion.'

Yeadon's Aamer Sajjad, returning for his third season at Yeadon and his fourth in the JCT 600 Bradford League - he also had one season with Bankfoot - is the next longest serving overseas professional.

Esholt, who like Yeadon were promoted to Division One last season, are the only other club to retain their overseas player. Shahzaib Khan contributed greatly to their success last year and will be looking to make his mark in Division One.

Another overseas player who is well-known to JCT 600 Bradford League followers is Rizwan Ahmed. The talented batsman has spent the previous two seasons with Brighouse but has joined Hanging Heaton for the coming season.

Ahmed won the Division One batting averages in 2006 and Hanging Heaton will be looking for him to make a similar impression this time,

Of the newcomers one of the most exciting looks to be Quaisar Abbas who has signed by Manningham Mills. The left hand bat and slow left arm bowler played one Test for Pakistan against England at Lahore in 2000. He has scored 3,863 runs and taken 55 first class wickets for National Bank.

Bowling Old Lane and Pudsey Congs are both giving opportunities to two talented Pakistan Under-19 players. They have signed Riaz Kail and Mohammed Naved respectively who are both spin bowling all-rounders.

Bradford & Bingley have decided to pep up their bowling attack by bringing in the Sri Lankan pace bowler Amila Ratnayke.

Saltaire have bolstered their side with the signing of the 33-year-old Indian Rahul Kanwat. He is a right hand bat and off spin bowler who has scored 3,386 first class runs and taken 161 wickets for Rajasthan The new overseas professional at Brighouse is the relatively unknown Newe Zealander James Crighton

Cleckheaton have brought in South African Louis Aspeling who played for Central Yorkshire League side Scholes last season. Aspeling scored 640 runs in the Central Yorkshire League in 2007 and Cleckheaton will be hoping the former Griqualand West right hand batsman and leg spin bowler makes a big impression for them.

Another South African making his JCT 600 Bradford League bow is Gareth Van Hoesslin who has joined Division Two side Bankfoot. Van Hoesslin is a wicketkeeper/batsman who plays his first class cricket for Border. He has scored 759 first class runs with a top score of 115 not out. He has also taken 51 catches and made three stumpings.

Farsley, keen to regain their Division One status at the first attempt, have recruited Jamaican all-rounder Lorenzo Ingram. He is a left hand bat and slow left arm spin bowler who has represented the West Indies at under-19 and B level, Ingram has previous experience of playing in England and has appeared for Lincolnshire in the Minor Counties Championship.

One player returning to the JCT 600 Bradford League is fast bowler Mohammad Azhar Ullah who has been snapped up by Morley. He played with Pudsey Congs in 2006 before moving into the Central Yorkshire League where he starred with Mirfield Parish Cavaliers last season. Azhar Ullah, 25, is currently playing as an over-age player for Pakistan's under-18s and that means he will not arrive until early in May.

Spen Victoria will be pinning their hopes of Naeemuddin, a 27-year-old left hand batsman who has just enjoyed a highly-successful debut season with Sialkot. He made 457 runs with a top score of 216 not out. He also picked up eight wickets with his off spin.

Great Horton are hoping that 24-year-old Suleman Khan can fill he void left by the departure of Kashif Naveed. Khan is a right hand batsman and slow left arm bowler who has a top first class score of 129 not out. Naveed, who guided Great Horton to Soverereign HealthCare Priestley Cup wins over Division One sides Farsley and Pudsey Congs last season, has joined Gomersal.

Idle, keen to regain their Division One status, have placed their faith in Pehshawar all-rounder Mohammad Fayyaz. He has scored 1,124 first class runs and taken 26 wickets, while Undercliffe are giving the young all-rounder Nawaz Sardar the chance to impress in their new-look side.

After the success of Khurram Shehzad, Shoaib Khan and Adnan Raees, Hartshead Moor's last three overseas professionals, there will be considerable interest in the performances of Fawad Ali. a right hand bat and off spin bowler from Peshawar. Windhill will be pinning their hopes on young Pakistani batsman Umar Mahmood.

Lightcliffe have the only Australian overseas player. They have recruited Sean Robinson who they hope will be a big hit