TODMORDEN have signed Western Australian pace bowler Matthew Nicholson as their new professional for this summer's Transco Lancashire League campaign.

Last year's Worsley Cup winners lost the services of Dan Marsh to Leicestershire but have snapped up a top-class replacement in 26-year-old Nicholson, who won one Test cap against England in 1998 when he took four wickets.

The six feet, six-inch tall right-arm seamer and lower order batsman was Australia's under-19 player-of-the-year in 1992/93 but after starting out at New South Wales had to mocve to move to Western Australia to make his first-class debut.

Nicholson took 37 first-class wickets in the 1998/99 season to earn a call-up to Australia's tour of Zimbabwe and has 74 in total.

His career has in the past been disrupted by injury and illness problems but he is back playing first-team cricket at the WACA and Todmorden are delighted to have

"We think we have made an exciting signing and we are pleased to have somebody of that standing in the game, who has played Test cricket," said Duncan Sutcliffe, a member of the cricket committee at Centre Vale.