The season is just around the corner and the buzz has begun to gain momentum as everyone anticipates a highly competitive Premier League this summer. Most sides seem to have strengthened as they attempt to stop Appleby Frodingham, equaling Wakefield Thornes’ hat-trick of titles from 2016 to 2018.

Appleby Frodingham themselves will be buoyed by the return of Jordan Neil as their overseas and have signed a couple of new faces for Brumby Hall. One of which shares the name with the ground, Jack Brumby, who has made the move from Scunthorpe Town CC, although he’s more likely to start his Frod career in the second team, as that’s where he played at Scunthorpe. He also hasn’t played more than ten games in a season since 2019, so if he commits more maybe you’ll see him moved up into the ones. The other new signing is Jacob Wainman from Haxey CC. Jacob opened the bowling last season with Barnsley’s new signing Harvey Round and their figures were similar. Jacob took 38 first team wickets, with a strike rate of just over 33, an average a touch over 20 and an economy rate of a fraction under 4 an over. Compared to Harvey who took 29 wickets but his strike rate, average and economy rate were all slightly better than Jacob’s and he’s four years his junior. More games for former Cleethorpes player, Joe Baker, will improve their bowling attack, but losing Jordan Cook who has returned to Cleethorpes is a big blow to the side. Replacing 699 runs in any side is tough and probably makes Appleby a little weaker overall as the chasing pack try to make up ground. They’ll still be the most disciplined side in the league, their fielding is exemplary and running between the wickets is as good as anyone in the league.

Tickhill finished second last year and will be hoping to be in the mix come September. Looking at their new signings you’d have to say that their championship credentials will rest on how many games they get out of new county stars Ben Mike and Harry Swindells. Last years overseas star Tian Koekemoer was set to return but has been prevented by injury, so the club were quick to sign left arm quick Liam Guthrie, who took 43 league wickets for New Farnley last summer. Along with new singing Imran Khan, their bowling attack looks good, however Tian scored 21% of the clubs league runs last term and with the loss of Dane Schadendorf, who scored a century in 2022, they’ll be hoping that Harry Swindells plays more than a handful of games.

Sheffield Collegiate look a strong outfit heading into the new season, they’ve decided to employ an overseas cricketer this summer, in the form of Pakistan Under 19 batter Abdul Faseeh. They will boast a very strong top and middle order, with Will Hale missing a big chunk of last summer due to injury. Shaaiq Choudhry is still a class act and hopefully injury free to utilise his bowling more. George Bartlett had a break out year in the ones and will want more of the same starting April. They’ve also signed Jack Timby from Farsley, a big hitter who scored 497 league runs in 2022. Overall, they’ll hope that the new acquisitions propel them to the top of the standings come September.

Wakefield Thornes have had a quieter winter than the other challengers but have signed an overseas star, after last years complications. Thornes are the most successful team since the merger in 2016 and part of their success is to have a slow left armer as their overseas and they’ve maintained that tradition with Shubham Sharma who will also be more than just a useful bat as well. New signing Dylan Hurst will add to the squad with both bat and bowl. They do say goodbye to former Barnsley player Matt Jordan, who’s been a stalwart for the club, however Greg Wadsworth returns to action for the club as first team skipper. Wakefield have always found a way of winning tight games and if that proves the case, they could well be challenging at the back end of the season.

Barnsley will be hoping that their additions will see them at the right end of the table all season. The big plus is the return of Jake Weatherald for a full season. In the games that Jake was involved in last summer, Barnsley racked up as many points as any team in the league. He will still be the best overseas player in the competition and can single handedly take a game away from any team. Seam bowling was the main issue last term and the additions of Harvey Round and Adam Copley will hopefully address any weaknesses. Copley took 50 wickets in the Middlesex Premier Division in 2022. Liam Johnson is a massive signing for the club too, he’ll give skipper Beck Frostick another option with the ball and provide experience in a young middle order. If Sheryaar Ali and Owen Smith have breakout seasons this summer then anything is possible for this young team.

Whitley Hall are another team who have been busy this winter, bringing back slow left armer Callum Bethel to the club from his sabbatical at Hanging Heaton in the Bradford League. Matt Thompson looks a decent addition to the middle order and can offer a role as second spinner. He joins from New Brighton in the ECB Premier Liverpool Comp, last year he scored a little over 300 league runs and added 23 wickets. Whitley also look to have secured a stronger overseas player for this summer. Leeward Islands opening bat Montcin Hodge brings a wealth of experience to the club. He enjoyed two summers a decade ago in the Bradford League, representing New Farnley and Hanging Heaton.

Treeton have obviously lost Liam Johnson to ourselves, however batter Viraj Bhosale now qualifies as a national, giving them chance to improve their ranks with South African Onke Nyaka, an allrounder who looks more than just a useful addition.

Doncaster Town are another team that enjoyed a busy winter. They’ve brought Jack Shutt back from Elsecar, depending on his county commitments, he’ll improve both the batting and bowling at the club. They had made the coup signing of our former star overseas Harpreet Singh, however his IPL commitments and need of off season surgery have left him unavailable. We wish Harpreet a speedy recovery and hope to see him back in our league at some point. Imran Butt looks a worthy replacement, however his arrival may be delayed due to international commitments. Rajneesh Kumar will strengthen the first and second team squads having signed from Barrow Town CC. It appears their hopes will rest on Butt’s arrival date.

Elsecar moved quickly this winter to sign Cawthorne’s overseas star Taruwar Kohli, who scored close to a thousand league runs last summer. He’ll strengthen their batting no end and alongside Bilal Anjum, will form a strong top and middle order. With no other signings, new skipper, Moin Ashraf, will need help from his other players if they’re to mount a top half challenge.

Cleethorpes have added a lot of new players ahead of the new season, and will come into the season as a bit of an unknown quantity. Jordan Cook will be no stranger to the Premier division however, and would strengthen any team. Josh Kapton and Tom Morris join the club from local teams and will hopefully help to take Cleethorpes away from the bottom three places, along with allrounder James Hubball. Their respective stats would suggest that Cleethorpes have strengthened their squad. However, the loss of Tom Rollinson and Harry Costello could offset their busy winter.

Aston Hall return to the Premier League, for the first time since 2019, as winners of the Championship last year. They have added three players who wished to play Premier Division cricket. Nathan Swift and Zak Jahangir make the move from Barnsley and will help strengthen their batting and Hassan Bin Shabab deserves a crack in the top league after contributing to many wins for his former club Conisbrough in the Championship.

Hallam are the second new team in the Premier Division having bounced back at the first attempt. A club that thrives at junior level, they’ll be hoping that their youngsters can help maintain their position in the league.

Every team will be hoping to better their 2022 position and mount a challenge to Appleby Frodingham but if I was a betting man, and I’ve never been good at it, I’d say the champions will come from one of last years top five. The gulf between Premier and Championship is bigger than ever, so I’d expect the two new teams to maybe battle it out at the bottom of the table. However, in a league where anyone can beat anyone, there will be some shocks along the way, including the league positions.