Visa rules are making life tough

STRICTER visa regulations are playing havoc with professionals’ arrangements during the early exchanges in this season’s Lake Garage Central Lancashire League.

Several clubs, including reigning champions Heywood and early pacesetters Norden, have been relying on stand-in paid men for the first few games of the new campaign.

Lots of clubs up and down the country are in the same boat and, as local cricket fixture lists become more congested, securing deputy professionals is going to become even more difficult.

Heywood and Milnrow were without professionals last Saturday and, while CLL rules state that clubs must field a paid man if at all possible, there is a degree of sympathy being shown to those being hindered due to the tighter immigration regulations.

The continued absence of South African Jean Symes has not prevented Norden from winning all four of their matches and the Woodhouse Lane side sit proudly at the top of the table on 19 points.

Delph pro Bhalil Khiljee was their latest deputy against Crompton on Sunday, but Norden will be hoping that Symes finally gets visa clearance in order to continue the good work of his first season in the CLL in which he was fifth in both the batting and bowling averages, scoring 1,154 runs and taking 42 wickets.

Heywood continue to be without Sri Lankan Ruvin Peiris, who is also being hindered by red tape, so Royton will be interested to see who they secure for Saturday’s fixture at Crimble.

Werneth, for whom Pierre Joubert is deputising as professional for the first nine matches of the season, will need to book stand-in paid men for five matches once Joubert returns home and they await the arrival from World Twenty20 duty of his fellow South African Roelof van der Merwe.

But the Coppice outfit will be delighted with their start to the season and will feel they have every chance of continuing their early success against Rochdale and Oldham - two sides in the bottom five - this weekend.




WERNETH won by nine wickets at Littleborough as they made a spectacular start to their CLL under-18s league campaign.



Littleborough were bowled out for 106 and Werneth replied by making 108 for one.

Royton lost by four wickets at Bury, despite Liam Mason making 51 not out in their total of 127 for five. Bury hit 128 for six in reply.

Oldham’s match at Milnrow was abandoned due to rain on the second evening.

Results: Bury 128-6, Royton 127-5 (Mason 51n.o.); Littleborough 106, Werneth 108-1; Middleton 82-5, Heywood 83-8; Milnrow 166-5 v Oldham; Rochdale 128-4, Unsworth 125-3 (Maxwell 50 n.o.); Walsden v Clifton 120.




SCORES from the Ashton and Oldham Cricket Alliance are —



St Mary’s HC 124-6 (A Cadman 37, S Jolly 37, N Patel 4-23), Foresters 127-2 (M Kazi 66 not out, J Swidells 28); Friends 75 (N Topling 4-36, G Skultop 2-0), Heyside 79-8 (N Banham 28, Asif 3-8); Newtonhurst 199-8 (M Boone 57, Boyle 56, L Flint 3-50, P Ives 2-32), Radclyffe 190-9 (R White 101, M Chambers 45, N Courtney 3-36); Greengate 166 (R Jackson 42, B Harwood 4-42), Europa Exiles 167-9 (R Farrow 57, T Dwyer 34 not out, T Nixon 4-44).