Ashington cricket signing

And the Mighty Acorns are delighted after finalising the deal for the 29 year-old ahead of what will be a historic first ever season for the club in the top flight of the North East Premier League having wrapped up promotion from the first division at the end of the last campaign.

Kalsi is a left handed batter and left arm spin bowler from India who plays for Himachal Pradesh.

Steve Storey, recently installed as the new chairman at Langwell Crescent after taking over from the retiring Bob Dunning said: “We have stepped up a level, so we are naturally delighted to secure the signing of Ankit for the coming season and he will be a huge asset.

"Credit must go to our first team captain Sean McCafferty who has spent a lot of time and effort in identifying a professional for the club who will not only strengthen the side in batting and bowling but also fit well into our team.

"We are looking forward to meeting Ankit - who looks a top, top player - so hopefully exciting times are ahead.”

First team skipper Sean McCafferty said: “We knew what type of player we wanted – we saw that Ankit was available - and we’re over the moon to get him on board. Ankit, who has captained his team recently, averages well over 40 with the bat in first class cricket in India and that’s a very good standard.

"He wants to come over here and make a difference for us and to help our team perform well.

"Next season is going to be a big one for the club and we’re really pleased to get the deal done early so that from a playing point of view we can concentrate and focus all of our attentions towards the new campaign which gets under way in April.”

Fixtures for the 2023 season in the North East Premier League will be published shortly.