Royton swoop for Sri Lankan pro

ROYTON captain Denny Hulme

CRICKET: 

ROYTON, fifth in the Lake Garage CLL’s Premier Division this summer, have already made a move to strengthen for next season.

The Paddock club has signed 26-year-old Sri Lankan ace Geeth Alwis, whose last stint as a

pro in the region, in 2012, saw him score 1,400 runs and take 70 wickets for Todmorden.

A top-order batsman and left-arm spinner, he succeeds South African Pieter Malan.

“Left-arm spinners like Alwis are like gold dust, so we are glad to have signed him. There are other players we have lined up, but it’s too soon to reveal anything.”

At one stage last summer, Royton were in danger of relegation to the Championship, the CLL’s second tier. After losing eight games in a row, they rallied superbly.

“I was really happy with our finishing position,” said Hulme. “I know we had the mid-season wobble, but we finished strongly with six wins in the last eight games.”