2025 Season Preview

In the Premier Division, Champions Cleethorpes have recruited opening bowler Joe Baker from neighbours Appleby Frodingham, and with David Mansfield available for a full season along with all last year’s squad available, including the 2024 Premier League top bowler Mayank Mishra, they can be expected to mount a strong bid to retain their Premier Division crown. Their main challengers are likely to be Sheffield Collegiate, Tickhill and Wakefield Thornes. Sheffield Collegiate welcome top-order batter Sheryaar Ali to their ranks and Pakistani star Abdul Faseeh is returning for a third season. Sam Hunt will not be available this season, and Jack Timby will take over behind the stumps. Tickhill finished third in the YCSPL behind Wakefield Thornes and Cleethorpes, and have moved to strengthen their squad with Bilal Anjam, Danyaal Khalid, Mike Jepps, Liam Johnson, Adam Copley, Vinnie Ogden and Australian overseas Joel Whelan all signing up. Under new captain Matt Taylor, Wakefield Thornes have recruited well, with Pakistani all-rounder Uzair Mumtaz, Charlie Bourne from Treeton, Sam Wisniewski from Pudsey Congs, Jacob Rhodes from Hethersett & Tas-Valley, and Lewis Upton and Pete Lomas from Rockingham Colliery; whilst a notable departure has been long-serving batsman James Wolfenden. Two other clubs who will be expected to challenge in the top six are Appleby Frodingham and Doncaster Town. Appleby Frodingham have recruited South African Ettiene Du Tolt as their overseas player; he is a destructive top order batter who also bowls off-spin. Other than Joe Baker there have been no departures; Mason McDaid, Liam Sylvester and Isaac O'Neil all got a flavour of first team cricket during the 2024 season, and the club hope they can kick on. Doncaster Town have recruited a new overseas player in Indian top-order bat Bhargav Merai, who will be available for the whole season; Jack Zuurbier has rejoined from Cuckney and Ryan Alahakon from Whiston Parish; whilst Jak Hotchkiss spent the winter down under in Australia after a very promising back-end of last season in the first team. Duncan Heath has left the club to play nearer to home at Pudsey Congs. There have been a number of comings and goings at Shiregreen, who have signed Afghanistan opening bowler Istiqlal Hanif. Whitley Hall welcome Qaiser Ashraf as their new overseas player, together with the returning Adam Wilson and Jordan Bethel. No-one has left Baxter Field, and the club will be looking for more consistence in order to mount a top six challenge. Cawthorne welcome new arrivals Harry Allison, Mustafa Khan, Abid Hassan, Syed Shah, Rizwan Sidiq, and Australian overseas player Matthew Carroll. Barnsley Woolley Miners are in a rebuilding phase under new captain Boeta Beukes, having lost Oliver Jackson, Ali Jahangir, Adam Copley, Sheryaar Ali and Liam Johnson. Sean Whitehead, a South African slow bowling all-rounder, replaces Jacob Cumming as the overseas player; whilst Jash Giyanani (Loughborough University), Joe Simpkin (Worksop College), Zain Ali (Whiston PC) and Rizwan Ishfaq (Sheffield Collegiate) have joined the club. Consolidation will be the priority for the two promoted clubs. Wickersley Old Village have recruited Manan Vohra from India as overseas professional for 2025, whilst Sam Drabble, Muhammad Ilyas, Aqeel Ahmed, Isaac Spencer-Jones and Rob Jones have returned to the club. A number of promising youngsters at the club are also now making their way in senior cricket, including Alfie May, Tristan Alfred and Subhan Hussain, who have put the hard yards in over the winter and the club look forward to seeing them reap the rewards. Mark Cummins, Jake Rodgers, Gareth Purshouse and Pete Smith have all moved on. Hallam have re-signed their former overseas player Andre Bradford, who is now English-qualified and has been playing for Shropshire in National Counties, and welcome back Australian all-rounder Christian Leddicoat to add to last season’s successful squad. 

 

Ackworth missed out narrowly on promotion from the Championship Division last year and will be expected to make another strong challenge, despite the departure of Ian Wood, with the arrival of pace bowler Rob Withers from Methley, all-rounders Eddy Cole from Castleford and Alex Clemo from Knottingley, to add to a squad that includes experience and home-grown talent. We also wish them the very best of luck in the postponed 2024 National T20 plate Final in May. The two relegated clubs, Elsecar and Treeton, will be expected to challenge to bounce straight back. Elsecar, who have recruited off-spinning all-rounder Musa Altaf from Sheffield United and Shahzaib Saeed from Hanging Heaton, will have highly promising 16-year-old Enzo Campagna first team opening bowler, and will be captained by the very experienced Haider Jahangir. Treeton also have a new captain in Harvey Wootton, and have re-signed the experienced Gareth Davis from Whiston PC, as well as Mark Cummins from Wickersley. Sprotbrough are another club that will hope to be in the promotion mix, having finished fifth in 2024. They have signed Thomas Cuthbert from Louth and Indian amateur overseas Parteek Khasa replaces Akhil Akhil. Talented youngster Lewis Hogg joined midway through last season from Sheffield Collegiate and immediately impressed, so the club look forward to a full season from him. Wath have lost some experience in Simon Ward, Michael Bates and long-serving former skipper Shawn Hopkins, but have recruited Pete Smith (Wickersley), Sam Bowden (Whiston PC), Fazil Reza (Sheffield United), and Jay Smith (Upper Haugh), to add to a squad that already includes some very promising juniors, like James and Isaac Wainwright, George Seddon, Josh Burrow, and Lochlan Gannon. Aston Hall welcome back Henry Renshaw and Lewis Sansome to the club; Zaki Anjum joins from Houghton Main; Adam Furby and Jamie Taylor from Harthill; whilst the club also welcome South African overseas Gerard Coetzee. Over the last two or three seasons the club has put a big emphasis on trying to recruit younger players, and hope to see them establish themselves in senior cricket. Sheffield Collegiate 2nds, with all their young talent, will be bolstered by Jack Clough from New Zealand, but Adrian Meadows has retired after a long and distinguished career. For Whiston Parish Church, Joe Norbury makes a welcome return from Treeton, Ibrahim Shakil joins from Sheffield United, the middle order is strengthened by Brady Saunders who makes the move from Wickersley Old Village, and 17-year-old Joe Yellott joins from Brookhouse. At Rockingham Colliery, Nasser Rasool has returned to the club after a number of years away and will add great depth to the bowling department. Lasith Lakshan returns as the overseas player and the club hope he can replicate his form of 2024. Lewis Upton and Pete Lomas have both left the club. Oughtibridge and Tickhill 2nds are the promoted sides, and Oughtibridge War Memorial in particular look to have prepared well for the challenge, recruiting extensively, including Saj Fernando, Hamza Ilyas, Bilal Imtiaz, Barney Kirk, Zeeshan Karamat, Ashley Statham, Phil Langley, Muhammad Ali, and Ritu Ghose. The one departure though, is the overseas professional Hasaru Chaamikara, who will leave big gap. 

 

Division 1 is expected to be very competitive. Coal Aston will look to build on the momentum gained by their record-breaking 100% season in Division 2 last year. Fellow promoted side Penistone have recruited Jake Rodgers from Wickersley Old Village and Anthony Godley from Barnsley Woolley Miners, but on the debit side Will Mott has left to return to former club Cawthorne, whilst Scott Jones has joined Green Moor. They will seek to be competitive in the division. Monk Bretton were also promoted, and have signed their first ever overseas player, South African all-rounder Joshua van Oudtshoorn; whilst former juniors Jenson Hayes and Ben Davis will be ones to watch this season as they move into the first team squad. Darfield were just one place from promotion in 2024, and will be competitive as ever. Warmsworth, who have recruited Jay Horne From Barnby Dun, Umair Alam from Eden Grove Parklands and Syed Sadat from Oulton will be hoping to improve on last season’s eighth place, despite having lost last year’s overseas player Siddarth S Ahhuja, and Jack Rodgers, who has emigrated. They will be hoping for further progress from several very gifted young players. Upper Haugh have been busy in the transfer market, welcoming several talented players, including James Doran, Craig Jackson & Joe Haugh (Conisbrough), Aadam Hassan (Sheffield United), Shawn Hopkins (Wath), Jordan Watson (Whiston Forge), Kieran Dinnage (Wombwell Main), Alex Keeton (Darfield), and Elliott Hunt (Mexborough Athletic). Making way for these arrivals are Dean Smith (retired), Ayden Dawson (Wombwell Main), Gaz Judge (Bradfield Village Fellowship), Raf Ahmed (Tickhill) and Ben Machin. Habil Malik remains the one to watch after his 83 wickets and scored 567 runs in all competitions in 2024. 

 

Aston Hall 2nds, Elsecar 2nds and Wakefield Thornes 2nds were all relegated to Division 2 last season, and will be hoping to mount strong promotion challenges. Dani Bothma, brother of first team skipper Johannes, returns to Green Lane to play for the second team this year. Hallam 2nds narrowly missed out on promotion last year, and they will be hoping to go one better with a squad dominated by promising home-grown players. Frickley Colliery are newcomers in this division and therefore an unknown quantity, but they have recruited Tom Hemingway, Adam Rollin, and Jack Whale to add proven quality and solidity with the bat – an area the club felt needed strengthening. Bailey Hopkins is a destructive batter who can take apart any attack on his day; Ollie Mitchell is a classy left-hander and 15-year-old Yorkshire batsman Frankie Mangham is aiming for a breakout first-team season. Thorpe Hesley & High Green have a new Indian overseas player in Aayush Kumar, and have also recruited Darren Lockwood from Holmfirth and Phil Atkin from Sheffield United, whilst Callum Gray has moved to pastures new. Promoted Millhouses Works have the same squad that finished runners-up in Division 3 last season, and they will be hoping for big contributions from 18-year old all-rounder Noah Ellis and 16-year old fast bowler Joe Thake, whilst the batting will be strengthened by Kieran Mallett will also be available much more this season. 

 

Worsbrough Bridge were fifth in Division 3 last season, and have signed young wicket-keeper Tyler Jowitt from Rockingham Colliery and Naseem Shahid from Houghton Main. Zarmash Khan scored over 1,000 runs for the club last season whilst young Lewis Wilkinson also had a great 2024, and the club hope to see them follow that this season, helping them make a promotion push. Sheffield Collegiate 3rds can also be expected to challenge for promotion, as younger players from their seemingly endless conveyor belt of talent continue their progress, whilst Hatfield Town will also hope to bounce straight back into Division 2 and have signed all-rounders Alex Pepper and Joseph Dixon from Barnby Dun, who will add quality to the batting and bowling departments, whilst Ben Scott, a utility player who bats, bowls and keeps wicket, has arrived from Conisbrough, and all-rounder Josh Hartfield has joined from Barnsley Woolley Miners. Higham will also be looking to challenge and have signed Adam Guest from the Pontefract & DCL, whilst Kyle Clayton has moved onto pastures new. George Deegan will be leading from the front this year with bat and wicketkeeping gloves. Sheffield Caribbean finished in mid-table last time round, but have recruited an exciting young talent in Haroon Zafar, the ‘quiet but deadly’ fast bowler Shinit Mathew, and experienced all-rounder Yar Mohammed. They will look to challenge for promotion in another open division. Bradfield Village Fellowship have signed Mark Williams from Rainford, and Alex Clayton & Gareth Judge from Upper Haugh; whilst Ritu Ghose and Ashley Statham have joined Oughtibridge War Memorial. Noah Jackson and Will Clarke are amongst the club’s young promising young players whom they hope will make their mark this season. Frecheville Community were promoted as champions of Division 4, and have recruited Chris Radford from Harthill, whilst Elliot Metcalfe returns to the club from Norton Woodseats. Norton Oakes welcome back Josh Thompson, who joins from Apperknowle, promising juniors, Josh White and Hayden Behan have joined from Hundall and Tom Eyre has signed from Norton Woodseats. 

 

Sheffield University Staff have been one of our success stories over our four seasons, and now take their place in Division 4. Unfortunately, they have lost opener BalaMurali Poddar, but have recruited a number of promising postgraduate students and are excited to see what they can bring to the side. Mark Groves, Ewan Miller, Luke Beniston, and Callum Green have all joined fellow promoted side Barnby Dun, and Simon White has returned after a season away. Ryan Pell and Leo McConway-Gee are two promising young players, who will step up to the first team after impressing in the second team last season. After 25 years at the club, Jay Horne has left, whilst Alex Pepper and Joseph Dixon have moved to neighbours Hatfield Town. Stocksbridge only missed out on promotion by eight points last season, and with the nucleus of that team available, can be expected to make a strong push. Wombwell Main have signed Ayden Dawson and Taylor Holden to bring youth and energy, but Richard Wilkinson will enjoy his first season on the sidelines following his retirement and wicket-keeper Jack Tinker has moved to Elsecar. Much is hoped for from Adam Carnall, a young seam bowler on an upward trajectory, who is bowling quicker than ever. 

 

Silkstone United were relegated to Division 5 but have recruited widely to bolster their aim of making a swift return. Callum Gray, Rob Davies, Rob Patrick, James Lynch, and Jevan Hodgson have all joined, and Kyle Armitage has returned from Monk Bretton. The club will welcome back Tom Grimshaw, who missed last season with injury, but unfortunately, wicket-keeper-batsman Luke Heath has departed to Thorncliffe & Wentworth and young fast bowler Jack Durkan has joined neighbours Penistone. Hallam 3rds are another club who will be expected to be in the mix for a swift return to Division 4, with their rich pool of young talent. Whiston Forge welcome two new faces in Liam Stainthorpe and Corey Manderson, but have lost one of their greats, Kristian Lee-Green, who has moved to the United States after taking a wicket with his final ball and then smashing a huge six to bring up his century and seal victory in his last game. Forge will also hope that Steve Cowles can continue his incredible form with the bat in 2025. 

 

Division 6 welcomes two new clubs in Wadworth and Waverley – both will be relatively unknown to our league, but will start with high hopes and we wish them well. Waverley have recruited a few promising players, including Jerin Varghese and Ahil Ashok, who will strengthen their squad for the challenges ahead. Sheffield Caribbean 2nds have recruited veteran Liaquat Ali from Shiregreen as their captain and will hope to improve on last season’s lower mid-table position. Handsworth Junior SC have lost Monir Chowdhury, who was their first team captain for the last eight years, but have retained Hamza Hussain, a very talented young cricketer who was the leading wicket taker & highest run scorer for the club last season. Scholes & Harley had a great season in 2024, as they won Division 7, and they, and second-placed Green Moor, will have momentum going into the new season. 

 

Brookhouse finished third in Division 7 last year, and should be in the mix at the top of the division again, with Parkhead 2nds promotion outsiders after winning Division 8. The four relegated clubs, the second XIs of Bradfield, Handsworth, Higham and Sheffield United, will also fancy their chances of an immediate return to Division 6. 

 

One of last season’s success stories were Dearne, and they welcome back Ben Whitehouse, a run machine in his first Dearne spell, and after stints at Barnsley Woolley Miners and Old Glossop, is keen to help his old club consolidate after promotion to Division 8. They will be the only team in the division that is not a 2nd, 3rd or 4th XI. Our one to watch is Hallam 4ths with their array of young talent to choose from. 

 

An expanded Division 9 sees new teams in the second XIs of Frickley Colliery, Sheffield University Staff and Waverley. With four clubs relegated from Division 8, this is perhaps the most difficult to predict, but perhaps Silkstone United 2nds, having missed out on promotion by just six points, may go one better this time.