Return trip for Khan

WE’LL MEET AGAIN: Zeeshan Khan is set for a third season at Uppermill.

RECORD-BREAKING batsman Zeeshan Khan is returning for a third season at Uppermill in the Armstrongs Office Furniture Saddleworth and District Cricket League.

The overseas amateur flew home to Pakistan on Tuesday after agreeing to come back to Leefields in 2010.

Khan set a new best for an amateur batsman when he struck 102 — his seventh century of the summer — in Uppermill’s last game of the season against Shaw.

It took his total for the season to 1,403 runs, which bettered Grant Jones’ effort of 1,367 for Delph in 1998.

Club chairman Chris Bird said: “It’s fantastic news for Uppermill.

“I think he is the best batsman in the Saddleworth League bar none, and that includes the professionals.

“He is very highly thought of here. He is respected by both young and old.

“Zeeshan is a real team player and bats accordingly. We’re delighted he is coming back and with the team around him, we’ll hopefully maintain our position in the league.”

Khan came to the club at the start of the 2008 season and quickly earned respect from team-mates and rivals alike.

His performances — he scored 1,117 runs at 85.9 in his first campaign — helped lift Uppermill to fourth in the table.

Khan carried on where he left off on his return in April and his accumulation of runs in 18 innings makes him the outstanding batsman in the league.

It has been a season of near misses for the first team under Matt Taylor as they were runners-up in the league and were beaten finalists in both the Tanner Cup and Twenty20 Cup.

But despite the frustration of finishing second-best on three occasions, Mr Bird believes 2009 has been a success.

He said: “It’s all relative really, because Bamford Fieldhouse were always going to win the title.

“We were the only team to beat Bamford in the league, it’s just a pity we couldn’t do it in the Tanner Cup final.

“When I took over as chairman three years, we were rock bottom, but we’ve progressed in every season since.

“I felt it was important to re-establish some core values in the club, which has been done and now we’re seeing the results.

“The players are proud to play for Uppermill and that is what we want.”