ELSECAR
Elsecar finished seventh in the Championship last year having been relegated from the top flight.
Their overseas player is South African all-rounder Curtley Louw, who has First Class experience.
All other players have stayed including Yorkshire age group players Tom Bradley, Enzo Campagna and Musa Altaf.
New captain Callum Higgins said: “I am expecting big things from a young side mixed in with a bit of experience”
For their second team, Elsecar have signed 16-year-old Rehan Ahmed from Sheffield Collegiate who is in the Leicestershire under 16s squad and South African Thorston Morkel.
ROCKINGHAM
The Hoyland Common club join Elsecar and Barnsley in the Championship.
They have brought back Sri Lankan Lasith Lakshan who has taken more than 50 wickets and scored 500 runs in each of the last two seasons. They have lost Mikey Denton to Wath but Sam Whitlam has gone the other way.
HOUGHTON MAIN
The Middlecliffe club are looking to stabilise in Division One.
They have signed Barbadian bowler Teriq Worrall who played for them in the 2022 season before a spell in the Devon League. They have brought back Ian Simon as captain.
Vice-captain Matt Thornton said: “It’s not been the best couple of years for the club after coming down from the Championship. We’ve stabilised after a big exodus of players.
“I would be happy to consolidate and build for next year, with mid-table and a cup run.
“Some big clubs are playing some big money out so it will be tough.”
MONK BRETTON
Monk Bretton are preparing for a second season in Division One.
South African all-rounder Joshua van Oudtshoorn has returned as captain after starring last season. They have also brought back Luke Ogden from Cawthorne and signed Elliott Burnett from Lambley Village in Nottingham.
Dean Whitfield has returned from retirement and Dave Bell joins from Scholes and Harley.
A club spokesperson said: “Having seen what Division One was all about last season, we know now what to expect and are confident we can compete at this level. The baseline goal is to finish in the top half of the league but we would love to be in the top four. The players know that, if they play intelligent cricket, they can achieve what they set out to do.”
WATH
Wath will be looking to bounce straight back after being relegated from the Championship into Division One last year.
They have signed South African batter Jason Van Dyk as well as Imran Shah from Darfield plus wicket-keeper Mikey Denton from Rockingham.
Notable departures include Sam Whitlam to Rockingham, Matty Bowering to Kexborough and the Roebuck brothers, Alex and Ben, who have both decided to play rugby league during the summer.
Rob Barlow said: “It has been a difficult winter with many of our players deciding to leave, but even so, we can hopefully gain promotion.
“We will be hoping our younger players will be able to step up and fill the void left by those who have moved on.”
WEST BRETTON
West Bretton have moved across to the South Yorkshire League after a spell in the top flight of the Pontefract League.
They join Wath, Monk Bretton and Houghton Main in Division One.
