FORMER Blackburn Rovers keeper John Filan has sensationally signed for Padiham - the cricket club that is.

The 32-year-old Australian, who left Ewood to join Wigan earlier this season, is to return from his native Sydney in the next few weeks.

And he will immediately head down to the Arbories to help out his next-door neighbour, who is the Padiham captain Jon Hartley.

Hartley said when Filan played for Rovers he was banned from playing cricket, because of the potential damage he could do to his hands, but since his £600,000 switch to the JJB Stadium last year the restrictions had been relaxed.

And Hartley said the former Coventry keeper, who is his neighbour in Barley, Pendle Hill, wants to spend the summer playing cricket in the Jennings Ribblesdale League.

"He is on holiday at the moment but when he returns we are hoping to get him a few games at Padiham," said Hartley.

"He's a decent player as well, a right-arm medium pace bowler. We haven't seen him bat because he wasn't allowed to when he was at Rovers.

"At Rovers they were really strict, they wouldn't let him play at all but he's been down a few times to watch us."

It used to be the norm for professional footballers to switch to cricket in the summer, but since the seasons began to overlap and clubs became protective of their million-pound players, it has become a rarity.

"It is unusual," said Hartley. "But in Australia everyone plays cricket - he used to have to sneak off to play football."