Given quarantine concerns, Darwen’s original pro, Glen Batticciotto, has decided not to travel so the club has moved swiftly to sign the legendary Saeed Bin Nasir.

League cricket legend… fact!

Saeed Bin Nasir is, quite simply one of the most prolific batsmen to have graced league cricket in recent history.

The Pakistani sensation spent a decade (2002-12) playing for Pilsey in the lower reaches of the Derbyshire County League.

He struck 10,266 runs with an astonishing average of 98.71 including 33 centuries and 50 half-centuries.

The veteran batter blitzed a highest score of 256 in 2007 and broke the 1,000 run barrier in 6 of his last 7 seasons with the club, with his most prodigious season in 2010 recording 1,899 runs with 7 centuries in only 19 innings (averaging 135.64).

Quite remarkably, during his ten years with Pilsey, he scored 46.13% of the club’s 1st XI league’s runs.

Saeed in action. (c) Shutter Press

Not just a UK league legend, but a domestic run machine too

Whilst some might say Bin Nasir’s stupendous numbers reflect the lowly standard of cricket, his figures in Pakistani, then more recently Sri Lankan, domestic cricket suggest otherwise.

In a career spanning over 2 decades dating back to his first-class debut in 1997/98, Bin Nasir has scored over 15,000 runs across 307 matches with 32 centuries.

In 2016/17, he surpassed 10,000 first-class runs, boasts 24 centuries, and highest score of 251*.

He has one of the best one-day records in Pakistan with 3,968 runs at 43.60, with 6 centuries including a career-best 186*.

He has churned out over 1,000 first-class runs in 3 domestic seasons and averaged upwards of 50 in 5, to include perhaps his strongest season in 2011/12 striking 834 runs at 59.57 with three centuries, including his 251*.

Bin Nasir has been incredibly unlucky not to play international cricket, albeit has played for Pakistan A and was included in the squad for a Test series against Bangladesh in 2003/04, but didn’t play a game.

Whilst he acknowledges, he is now passed his best, he played and for the most part, skippered, United Bank Limited up until the end of the 2016/17 season.

He didn’t feature in domestic cricket in 2017/18, but, despite being in his late-30s, Bin Nasir returned to the fold in 2018/19, to play for PTV. He played 3 matches before calling time on his domestic career in Pakistan.

He did, however, make a domestic return last summer (2019/20), playing 7 matches in Sri Lanka for SL Ports Authority, striking 2 centuries amongst 424 runs at 42.40.

His more recent UK exploits show age is just a number…

Bin Nasir spent two seasons away from league cricket but returned to Northern shores in 2015 with a bang.

Playing for Marske in the strong North Yorkshire and South Durham Premier League, he struck 1,056 runs at 62.12 with 6 hundreds to finish second on the NYSD run charts.

He returned to Marske for the next two seasons and continued to excel – 1,154 runs at 67.88 in 2016, then another 928 runs at 71.38, with 10 centuries between them.

Over the past two seasons, Bin Nasir has continued to excel, following his move to rival Durham club Castle Eden. The Pakistani legend starred striking 1,529 runs at 49.32 with 3 centuries during his 2018-19 stints.

Binny signs for Darwen

Last summer, Bin Nasir had signed with Easington for what would have been their inaugural Durham and North East Cricket League campaign.

However, COVID-19 hampered this opportunity, but he has been snapped up for the 2021 season recently having signed with Lancashire League club Darwen.

The legend will be sure to make a big impact this summer, as he always does.