PRESTON Cricket Club's hopes for success in the Northern Premier League this year have been been dealt a blow after it was revealed their star player will miss the start of the new season.

The war in Iraq has resulted in a visa backlog at the British Embassy in Islamabad and the club's Pakistani professional Raouf Akbar has been told he faces weeks on the sidelines while he waits for his visa to come through. He is not expected to be available until the end of May.

Club secretary Dave Wilson said: "This makes things very difficult for us and our preparation for the new season but there is nothing we can do about it. We have sent letters and emails to the Embassy but it is extremely difficult to get things moving."

Preston now face a race against time to find a professional who can play in the opening league match against Leyland Motors on Saturday.

Motors themselves face a similar problem over their professional Atif Ashraf. The club say they have no confirmation as to when to when he will be able to travel over from Pakistan. Although it is against league rules not to play a professional it is expected the league will be sympathetic to the clubs' plight and they will not be punished for playing without one.

Leyland open their league campaign away at St Annes.