Around the Leagues: Pre-season news (YCSPL)

No shortage of news from the Yorkshire Cricket Southern Premier League, which has absorbed White Rose clubs from the defunct Yorkshire & Derbyshire competition.

Eden Madras Parklands, a winter merger of the Eden Grove Parklands and Old Madras clubs, will be one of many new names in the league’s 2026 fixtures.

The Doncaster club’s First XI are to play in Division Eight North and their Seconds in Division Nine North.

Amongst their close-season recruits, Eden Madras Parklands have brought in four players, including Shaukath Ismail and Raja Babar, from Bullcroft Main.

Premier Division Cawthorne have landed Pakistani seamer Naqeebullah as their overseas professional. He succeeds his countryman, the all-rounder Muhammad Shahzad, who is unavailable because of Pakistan Super League (PSL) commitments.

Preparing for his debut in British cricket, Naqeebullah heads to Dark Lane after a standout campaign in his country’s domestic first-class game. 

Naqeebullah took 52 wickets in 11 matches – five-day and one-day – in helping Water & Power (WAPDA) to victory in the February final of the Grade 1 President’s Trophy.

During the competition decider, at Lahore, Naqeebullah took 4-20 then 5-59 as WAPDA beat, by 35 runs, Sui Northern Gas Pipelines.

Whitley Hall, Cawthorne’s Premier Division rivals, have lost seamer Biswick Kapala to Tickhill, another YCSPL top-flight club.

But Whitley have brought in Zain Attique (Caribbean Sports), George Cowan (Doncaster Town), Ibrahim Shakil (Whiston Parish Church) and Nathan Swift (Warmsworth).

In a major boost, Pakistani Muhammad Qaisar Ashraf returns to Cinder Hill Lane after an impressive 2025 during which he hit 540 runs and contributed 50 wickets.

Ronan Hermann, a highly regarded South African wicketkeeper/batsman, will be Tickhill’s overseas professional. 

Explosive batter Harvey Wotton has joined Tickhill from Treeton, whilst Conor Fisher and James Stuart return, doubtless tanned and fit, after wintering in Australia.

In the debit column, Tickhill have seen Jordan Lowe, Ibrahim Safi and Michael Jepps switch to Premier Division rivals Wickersley Old Village, and Danyaal Khalid link up with Moorlands, the Mirfield-based Huddersfield Premier League Premiership club.

Whiston Parish Church, promoted to the Premier Division as 2025’s Championship Division’s runners-up, have scooped as their overseas professional Bhargav Merai (below), a top end bat and medium seam bowler.

An Elite Ranji Trophy practitioner in his native India, Bhargav is no stranger to the YCSPL, having belted 1,061 runs, last season, in the colours of Doncaster Town.

Wickersley Old Village have unveiled a clutch of signings, with left-arm spin bowling all-rounder Mayank Mishra the headliner. The Indian professional, who has spent the last three seasons with Cleethorpes, Wickersley’s Premier Division rivals and the 2025 champions, was ranked second last year in the YCSPL’s bowling averages, taking 72 wickets at an average of 10.57.

Mishra, earlier in his British career on the books of Driffield Town (Yorkshire Premier League North) and Philadelphia (North East Premier League), has a similarly impressive record in his homeland’s domestic first-class, List A and T20 cricket.

Of Wickersley’s three signings from Tickhill, Lowe is an aggressive, right-handed wicketkeeper-batsman, who can score vital runs in the middle order.

Earlier in his career, Lowe, who captained Wickersley during a previous spell at Northfield Lane, represented Yorkshire at first-class, Second XI and academy levels.

Pakistani batsman Abdul Faseeh returns, for a fourth season, to likely title challengers Sheffield Collegiate.

In 66 games for the Abbeydale club, the left-handed Faseeh, a popular figure, has made 2,800 runs at an average of 47.

Doncaster Town have brought opening bowler Joel Gunn back to Town Fields. He rejoins after a couple of seasons with Cuckney, of the Nottinghamshire Premier League.

As we reported in our previous leagues round-up, Doncaster Town Women’s squad has been strengthened with a number of signings, including Queenslander Lara Shannon.

Promoted Sprotbrough, the YCSPL’s 2025 second tier champions, bring in talented young opening bat Zaki Anjam, who hit 499 runs last season to be Championship Division club Aston Hall’s leading scorer.

Anjam (below) has posted centuries for Yorkshire Pathways, and is expected to slot seamlessly into Sprotbrough’s first-team squad.

In the YCSPL’s Championship Division, Coal Aston and Elsecar have signed overseas amateurs.

Coal Aston, promoted to the second tier as Division One runners-up last season, bring in a New Zealander, Regan Sheahan.

Sheahan, a left-arm spinner and upper order bat, spent 2025 with top-flight Worlington in the Two Counties (Suffolk & Essex) Championship, hitting 689 runs and taking 50 wickets, a Worlington club record for a single season.

Seam-bowling all-rounder Curtley Louw, Elsecar’s recruit, has first-class experience in his native South Africa.

Last year, Louw scored more than 500 runs and took 38 wickets whilst playing for Palace Shield top-flight club Lancaster, where he shone similarly in 2024.

Louw is noted also for his impressive coaching skills.

Stocksbridge, members of Division Four, are building a new pavilion at their high-level Bracken Moor ground. 

Described as state of the art, the pavilion will replace a structure that has done more than a century of service. Completion is scheduled before the end of September.

Also improving their facilities are Third Division Higham.

Having revamped the interior of their pavilion last year, Higham, looking to cope with growing community demand, have applied to Barnsley Council for permission to extend at each end of the structure.