Champions sign Sri Lanka international Bandara ahead of new campaign

BURNMOOR hope the arrival of Sri Lankan international Chamindra Bandara will help their Premier Division title defence go with a swing.

The left-arm paceman, who has more than 300 first-class wickets to his name, has agreed a deal wth the County Durham side – but won’t be available for tomorrow’s season opener at Tynemouth.

However, the Moor will have two other new faces available at Preston Avenue – Durham paceman Josh Couglin and batsman Marcus Brown.

Skipper Alec Linsley said: “Chamindra’s left-arm pace and swing will give us an extra dimension.

“He will not be available this weekend but we hope to have him available soon.”

Tynemouth have added Pakistani batter/seamer Mohammad Saad to their squad and will have Durham duo Stuart Poynter and Mike Jones available during the summer.

Chester-le-Street travel to Whitburn and skipper John Coxon is hoping his team can push Burnmoor all the way for honours.

He said: “We have lost Jack Campbell to Burnopfield and Liam Burgess to Stamford Bridge in York.

“Other than that, we will be very similar to how we have shaped up for the last few years and hope to be in the title mix come the end of the season.

“We will be relying on the senior players to continue to lead from the front and that will help youngsters like Robbie Dawson and Sebastian Hughes-Pinan gain valuable experience at this level.”

Sacriston entertain Eppleton having signed Daniel Thexton as wicketkeeper/batsman from Tudhoe and engaged Chris Rushworth as their county-contracted player.

Hetton Lyons welcome South North to Lilywhite Terrace with Robert Talbot returning after two seasons at Eppleton and Gary Scott back in action after two seasons out.

Meanwhile, Newcastle welcome several new faces for their Division One opener at Lanchester.

Director of cricket Phil Hudson said: “New signings Ben and Luke Mussett, Bobby Green and Will Taylor are in the team.

“We also welcome New Zealand Under-19s’ captain Jesse Tashkoff, who should be available subject to passing Covid tests and we hope to have Liam Trevaskis available from Durham CCC.”

Lanchester include signing Ryan McVittie from Lintz and hope to have Sri Lankan Passindu Madushan in their squad in the next few weeks.

Gateshead Fell travel to Philadelphia and have made three signings as they embark on their first full season back in Division One.

Mayank Mishra, a left-arm spinner who plays first-class cricket in India for Uttarakhand, is joined by Peter Greenwell and Shahid Khan.

Blaydon are at Shotley Bridge, with Dan Anderson and Chris Robb making their debuts.

Sunderland open their campaign at Willington with the same squad as last year welcoming back Hamza Tahir and Safyaan Sharif, and hope to be among the title contenders.

TOMORROW’S PREMIER DIVISION FIXTURES (11.30 start): Benwell Hill v Burnopfield, Hetton Lyons v South Northumberland, Sacriston Colliery v Eppleton, Tynemouth v Burnmoor, Washington v Felling, Whitburn v Chester-le-Street.

DIVISION ONE FIXTURES (all 12.00): Ashington v Crook Town, Castle Eden v Boldon. Lanchester v Newcastle, Philadelphia v Gateshead Fell, Shotley Bridge v Blaydon, Willington v Sunderland.