Settle set for another tilt at the championship

The North Yorkshire club has enjoyed steady progress since Andrew Davidson returned for a third spell at captain.

No longer wooden spoon contenders they climbed as high as fourth last season.

And having splashed out on an overseas professional in Indian all-rounder Robin Morris, they could be the ones to challenge Read's bid for a hat-trick of league wins.

"We have gone up a notch," said Davidson. "We have never been able to afford anyone like a Test player or just below and have usually had to recruit a professional from the local leagues.

"But we have got some local businesses, who have popped some money in and allowed us to do it this time."

Morris, who plays his first-class cricket for Bombay, has made it as far as representing an Indian President's XI and also has experience of English conditions.

Professional at Greenmount last season, he is a top-order batsman and medium pacer who can also bowl off-spin, although domestic commitments mean he will not play in Settle's opener. Australian Michael O'Rourke stepped in for today's visit of Padiham.

Like Read, Settle also have last season's paid-man in their ranks as an amateur with Stuart Hornby filling an all-rounder's role to supplement an impressive bowling attack which also includes Davidson and Paul Ridgway - one and two in the league's bowling averages last season.

If Morris delivers and the likes of Hornby, Paul Stafford and Paul Taylor also get amongst the runs, Settle could go close.

"If you can improve that's all you can hope for, but we beat Read the year before, tied with them last year and beat Great Harwood, so it's not like we can't compete," Davidson added.

"It takes a long time to change a culture of losing to winning, but it might be our year to do something".

Clitheroe captain Neil Bolton is hoping a number of the emerging players at Chatburn Road can rise to the challenge of keeping the club among the chasing pack.

Bolton is among those that expects Read to set the title pace with Settle their likeliest rivals for top-spot.

"That leaves us fighting it out with the likes of Great Harwood. But to repeat the third-place we had last year would be a fantastic achievement," he said.

"The young lads have got to improve for us to repeat last year's success.

"We have the best facilities in the league but we have to show that bit more desire and application."

Bolton led by example last summer with his 862 runs earning him the league's batting award.

Mark Bolton also weighed in with over 500 runs and, while Andy Burns has left the club due to work commitments newcomer Andrew Kenyon should strengthen the top order.

The skipper wants the likes of Stephen Bishop to increase their output and is also looking to Matthew Coulter and Paul Gaskill to fulfil their potential.

On the bowling front Neil Bibby and Mark Hargreaves will be looking to get back among the wickets on a more regular basis, while new professional Craig Thyssen has the potential to make an impact with bat and ball.

Thyssen toured England with South Africa,s under-19 side last summer and will take up his new post once he has completed his domestic commitments with the Free State Eagles.

"He's a young lad but he's a genuine all-rounder who will hopefully adapt quickly," added Bolton, who was expecting former Cherry Tree professional Naeem Ashraf to stand in as sub-pro today.

Oswaldtwistle Immanuel are hoping their investment in new professional Raja Ali pays off as they look to recover from last season's wooden-spoon position.

Ali is a proven run-scorer with Railways in India's domestic programme and captain Gerald Metcalfe hopes the left-hander, who also bowls slow left-arm, will bring some stability to Oswaldtwistle's batting line-up.

"He is a higher calibre than some of the pros we have had in recent years in that we haven't had someone with so much first-class experience," said Metcalfe.

"That does not come cheap and the costs have gone up, but we have spent a little more to try and turn the tide.

"We have also changed the balance because our batting has let us down. We have tried to address that problem by signing somebody with more emphasis on the batting."

Sajed Sadiq has left New Lane to rejoin Accrington, but former Baxenden all-rounder Andrew Clare and bowler Vernon Woods have returned to Oswaldtwistle to give further strength in depth.

And Metcalfe is hoping that 17-year-olds Kurt Smithson, Andrew Metcalfe and Chris Burton - joint winner of the league's young player-of-the-year award last year - can also maintain their progress to get the club off the foot of the table.

"Hopefully we should improve on last year. I'll be very disappointed if we don't."

Whalley have made one of the most eye-catching signings of the winter in the shape of professional Josh Marquet as they look to revive their fortunes.

The Melbourne-born Tasmanian paceman has a Sheffield Shield career behind him and has also been a regular wicket-taker in the Northern League.

The 34-year-old was in demand again during the close season but with a wife from Clitheroe opted to stay locally and sign up for the Station Road club.

"I think he will win a lot of games for us. Having a good strike bowler can make a big difference. On paper our batting is not too bad and if the pro does his stuff we might not have to be chasing too many," said Whalley skipper Mark Whelan.

Former professional Jason Smith has left the club after emigrating to America, while it's not yet known whether David O'Neill will be available to support Marquet.

But former Blackpool and Great Harwood batsman Richard Lamb has signed up to bolster a batting order which should also get runs from the likes of Lee Kearsley, Martin Davies, Simon Gorton, Andy Pratt and Alex Whelan to give the captain for optimism.

"I don't think we'll finish third-bottom again and I'm looking more to halfway," Whelan added.

Blackburn Northern are hoping to continue the progress they made last season under the guidance of long-serving skipper Mel Gillibrand.

Ijaz Khan has left but all-rounders Darren Walton, Farooq Butt and Neil Weaver are all back at Pleckgate Road.

Gillibrand is looking to young wicket-keeper batsman Adam Chester to continue his development, while professional Gareth Flusk has been re-engaged after a highly successful summer last year when he just missed out on 1,000 runs and bagged 74 wickets.

"He's a good club pro, not just on match-day but around the ground and at practice," said Gillibrand.

"The club is on the up and after last year we are looking to carry that on. We are looking at the top-half."

Baxenden's new skipper Kevin Jelley is looking forward to the challenge of leading the Back Lane club for the first-time.

Jelley has stepped up from captaining the second-team to take charge of the senior side in place of professional Jonathan Harvey.

And Jelley hopes that the move will allow Harvey to get to back to his prolific best after staying on as paid-man.

"I still think he's one of the best in the league," said Jelley. "By his own admission he under-achieved last year but by taking the responsibility of the captaincy off him it will let him get back to being the pro everybody knows he is."

Baxenden have lost striker bowler Liam Bones to Edenfield, which will mean a chance with the new ball for Stephen Molloy.

Young batsman Danny Hothersall will also be handed further responsibility with a place higher up the batting order.

And while the club has no new faces to call on, the return to the opening slot of Dave Usher following a finger injury will be a welcome one as Jelley tries to improve on last season's eighth-place.

He added: "The atmosphere in the club is very good at the moment. Hopefully we can be looking at the top-six and we're in the best half of the cup draw, so perhaps we can do something in that as well."