HORSPATH are excited to announce the signing of former England Test cricketer Ajmal Shahzad on a short-term deal. The 31-year-old, who is with Sussex, has been recruited to step in for Horspath's Pakistan overseas star, Rameez Raja, who has returned home to Karachi where his mother is seriously ill. Shahzad, a right-arm fast bowler and useful middle-order batsman, has been given clearance by the Home Counties Premier League in time to face Oxford in Division 1 at the Oxford University Press Sports Ground on Saturday. Horspath skipper Will Eason explained that the chance to sign Shahzad came about after coach Dave Ward contacted former England star Neil Fairbrother, who now works for sports management agency ISM. Will said: "The signing was slightly more complicated and I thought he would be available next week, but he can play on Saturday, which is great. "With Rameez going, which is a massive blow, I just felt that I needed to look for a high-quality player to be part of the group. "Obviously we weren't going to be able to get another overseas in that time because of visas and decided to look round the county circuit. "He is fit, but he is not in the starting line-up for Sussex, so they are quite keen for him to join as well on a short-term basis and fill in for Rameez. "It is good for him because he is playing some decent cricket and it is good for us, so it is win, win for everyone. "He is really keen and looking forward to getting going on Saturday against Oxford. "It is certainly something new to our list of achievements to have an England Test player in our side. He has contributed more to the one-day and T20 sides and is a specialist in that." Born in Huddersfield and raised in Bradford, Shahzad became the first Yorkshire-born player of Asian extraction to play for the White Rose county, making his debut against Worcestershire in a one-day match on May 23, 2004. Shahzad was with Yorkshire from 2004-2012, spending the 2012 season on loan at Lancashire. He then joined Notts for two seasons, before moving to Sussex in 2015. Shahzad made his debut for England in a Twenty20 international against Pakistan in Dubai in February 2010 reducing the opposition to 4-2, before they recovered to claim victory. The first of his 11 England ODI appearances came the following month against Bangladesh in Chittagong. And he became the 650th player to play Test cricket for England in June 2010 when he took 3-45 and 1-18 in an innings and 80-run win over Bangladesh at Old Trafford. Will added: "He is obviously high-quality with the ball and has lots of variations, so I am sure we will see both sides of that. "In the first-class county circuit he chips in with useful runs as well." Shahzad has taken 249 first-class wickets at an average of 34.55, and scored 2,237 runs at an average of 23.06. His most recent appearance for Sussex was in a one-day match against the South Africans at Hove on May 19.
Posted by: Russ
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