Asif back home with Dallas side

A CRICKET team from Dallas is flying in for a series of one-day matches against local clubs.

And at the head of the visit will be the legendary Asif Mujtaba who was Norden professional from 1997 to 2007 before he went to live in the United States.

The team is from Dallas Youth Cricket League Knights, who have been playing in a men’s league since 2016 and consists of players aged 14 to 20, with an average age of 16.

Dallas is a hotbed of cricket in the US and Asif said: “We have a really exciting bunch of players. It will be a great learning curve for these young players to come up against opposition and conditions they have not experienced before.”

The teams they meet will be basically under 17s.

The tour, which has been arranged by Asif and Norden player Greg Tattersall, will see Dallas play their first match at Norden’s Stag Park on Monday 23 July, start noon, 40 overs per side.

It will be the same start time and format for other games at Rochdale on Tuesday 24 July, Middleton on Wednesday 25 July, Bury on Friday 27 July, v Lancashire League X1 at Littleborough on Sunday 29 July, Werneth on Monday 30 July, Todmorden on Wednesday 1 August, and v GMCL X1 at Bamford Fieldhouse on Thursday 2 August.

This will be Asif’s first visit to the UK since 2007 and he said: “Rochdale was home to me and my family for a long time, and I cannot wait to meet up with old friends.”