Cricket: HONLEY TO FEEL; Record chase realistic, but Elland and Delph in hunt Cricket writer DAVID LOCKWOOD previews the Drakes League Premiership season, which gets under way a week tomorrow.

Byline: DAVID LOCKWOOD 

HONLEY are hell-bent on retaining their League Championship crown and etching their name into Drakes League folklore as the first team ever to win the Byrom Shield four years on the trot.

Bangladeshi Enamul Haque will be the left-arm spinner aiming to emulate the feats of his three Indian predecessors, while the club's two 'H' bombs, Harlon Haye and Ritchie Howarth, who bagged 142 wickets between them last summer, will keep opposing batsmen honest.

Meanwhile, skipper Rob Moore can again count on runs from Simon Kelly, John Greaves, Matt Cox, Danny Howard and Richard Jakeman.

As three-time winners, the Holme Valley club will again be the side to beat, but I'd expect them to come under increased pressure this season, from the likes of Elland, Skelmanthorpe, Golcar and Delph and Dobcross.

ELLAND finished fourth last season, although they were never really in the title hunt - but that may change this summer.

Much may depend on the availability of Yorkshire's Ajmal Shazad who has joined the Hullen Edgers and will spearhead the pace attack along with Ryan Robinson, Danny Rhodes and Craig Fletcher.

Shazad hit the headlines in 2004 when he became the first Yorkshire-born Asian (Ajmal was acutally born in Huddersfield although he never player here) to represent Yorkshire's first team when he made his debut in a totesport League game against Worcestershire at Headingley.

Now 23, Shazad could find himself mainly in the County second team which would allow him to play most of the season with Elland, who have also signed Cameron Borgas, a top order batsman and off-spinner from South Australia and leg spinner Greg Buckley, from Micklehurst.

With Lee Baxter, Richard Blakey and Robinson also expected to make big runs again, Elland could well be one to watch this term.

SKELMANTHORPE were Honley's only serious challengers last year and were still in top spot until the first week in August before beating them in the final of the Sykes Cup at Elland.

And with virtually the same personnel as 2007, Adam Dollive's Lidgett Lane side will be expected to again be there or thereabouts.

Richard Parker, who made an early impression before moving to work abroad, has again re-joined the army so would be unavailable, at least until July and skipper Dollive is not expecting any input from him this season.

But Amit Dhani returns for a third season, and he is undoubtedly a class act with both bat and ball, while opener Sarfraz Ahmed surprised many last year with his three centuries as both he and Dani topped 1,000 for the season.

DELPH & DOBCROSS are always likely to be in the mix, depending on how badly they may or may not be affected by the weather, which can be notoriously bad 'over the top.' Last year they were hit both by the weather and by a lacklustre overseas signing in Matthew Harvie who disappointed.

Considering they had Bruce Cruse winning the League's batting prize, Kamran Mirza the bowling prize and Graeme Simpson the fielding award, they will have been disappointed to have finished so low down in the table as well as losing (again) to Skelmanthorpe in the Sykes Cup semi-final.

This season they have recruited proven performer Bilal Khilji to fill the overseas berth, the Pakistani returning to that side of the hill after previously being at Micklehurst after spending one season at Emley Clarence last year.

Khilji is quality and may just provide Delph with the vital link they have so badly been missing.

GOLCAR had the highest scoring batsman in the entire league last year in Steve Whitwam, whose 1200-plus tally helped carry them to a fifth-place finish, and this year it's likely he will have much more support.

The Swallow Lane club have signed highly-rated Aussie Tim Welford who is captain of former Golcar favourite Jeremy Brown's club, Carlton, in Melbourne. The 25-year-old is an opening pace bowler as well as a useful middle-order batsman and comes with a tremendous reputation.

Joining him is ex-Lascelles Hall pair Craig Horner and Ben Robshaw, while skipper Ashley Pamment, who missed most of last season with hand injuries, also welcomes new wicketkeeper Simon Walker from Meltham.

BARKISLAND are back in the top flight after one season in the Conference, and skipper Paul Winrow will be confident of a better outcome than when the club were last in the Premiership, when they finished third bottom in 2006.

Indian quickie Love Ablish and Zimbabwean-born Tinashe Panyangara should give Winrow's attack some bite, while Dave Weston (Scholes), James Taylor (Kirkburton) and Darren Robinson (Golcar) will stiffen up the batting, the latter giving his skipper some pace variation too. Panyangara proved a hit last season in the Conference, and although it's a big step up to the Premiership he looked such a good prospect that I would expect him to prosper again this season.

REGISTRATIONS

Armitage Bridge: Ashley Donkersley (ex Thongsbridge), Garth Roeloffze (non Eu).

Barkisland: Darren Robinson (ex Golcar), James Taylor (ex Kirkburton), David Weston (ex Scholes).

Broad Oak: Graeme Hurlbatt (ex Shelley).

ClaytonWest: Dean Rickson (ex Denby Dale), Emiliano Pepler Sandri (known as Pepler).

Delph Dobcross: Adam King.

Elland: Greg Buckley (ex Micklehurst), Amjal Shahzad, Jack Pulley.

Golcar: Glenn Collier (ex Meltham), Craig Horner (ex Lascelles Hall), Ben Robshaw (ex Lascelles Hall).

Holmfirth: Ibrar Ali, Roy Collins, Greg Alexander, Denny Hulme.

Honley: Joe McNamara (ex Elland), Chris Woodhead.

Kexborough: Darrell Mitchell, Ayez Ahmed Qureshi, Ben Jackson.

Kirkburton: Matthew Garrety (ex Slaithwaite), Wayne Michael Seri (non EU), Wayne Swift.

Kirkheaton: Paul Bottomley, Jonathan Whittle (ex Lascelles Hall).

Lascelles Hall: Samuel Brunton, Stephen Lane (ex Golcar), Liam Pogson.

Linthwaite: Gavin Brooke (ex Broad Oak), Richard Paul Dyon.

Marsden: Peter Lombard (non Eu), Simond Robinson (ex Lepton High).

Meltham: Josh Dixon, Paulo Girardi (ex Golcar), Sam Holmes, Jack Moulson, David Robinson (ex Golcar).

Rastrick: Nathaniel Hyde, Oliver Marsh, Gareth Thomas, Joe Vickers, Joe Whiteley.

Scholes: Paul Hertzberg (ex Armitage Bridge), Scott Jagger (ex Skelmanthorpe), Adam Steers (ex Elland), Gareth Wakefield (ex Shelley).

Shepley: Adam Wiles (ex Kexborough).

Skelmanthorpe: Daniel Kirk.

Slaithwaite: Adam Cockroft, Freddie Garside, Howard Jones (ex Delph and Dobcross), Josh Langfield, Mark Mitchell (ex Marsden).

Thongsbridge: Leo Berry, Max Berry, Robert Berry, Wasim Khaliq.

CAPTION(S):

TOP PERFORMER: Honley seamer Ritchie Howarth will test any batsman; LEADING THE WAY: Adam Dollive (left) will be hoping to put Skelmanthorpe in the shake-up while Javed Iqbal Jnr (right) will carry Holmfirth hopes in the top flight