Sharp blunted as Linde lands

Date: 15th May 2012

A Paul Edwards copyright exclusive for L&DCC Official Website.

Lytham have finally signed an overseas professional for the 2012 season

- but Marcus Sharp has suffered a recurrence of his shoulder injury and may be out of action for a few weeks.

The classic bad news/good news weekend for cricket fans on the Fylde began when Sharp could manage only one over against Rainford in Saturday's ECB Premier League game. However, a six-wicket haul and 49 runs from Fayaz Ughradar helped Antony Mulligan's side to a four-wicket win and that was followed 36 hours later by a sigh of communal relief at Church Road when South African all-rounder George Linde's plane touched down on Monday morning.

Linde is a replacement for the 22-year-old Sri Lankan all-rounder Chaturanga de Silva, whose contract was cancelled when his application for a visa was first delayed and then turned down. The new signing is a slow left-arm bowler who has taken ten wickets in four first-class games for Western Province.

The Bridging Finance Solutions Liverpool Competition will not be Linde's first experience of English conditions: he spent last summer playing for Grimsby in the Lincolnshire Premier League, where he took 63 wickets at 14.06 apiece and scored 445 runs at an average of 29.67.

Lytham play Highfield in a rearranged Cockspur Club t20 tie on Wednesday. They then travel to Southport and Birkdale for Saturday's league game before returning to Church Road to face Sutton in a last-16 match in the Bridging Finance Solutions Knockout Trophy on Sunday.