THE stop-start nature of cricket in West Yorkshire recently has not panicked Jer Lane captain Raqeeb Younis.

His side had their fixture with Townville postponed last weekend due to the weather and this Saturday’s contest at Hanging Heaton remains in the balance with the forecast looking unfavourable.

Along with that, Jer Lane have hit a small bump in the road in recent weeks having lost two of their previous Bradford Premier Division fixtures, with the other match being drawn.

The newly promoted side had made early shockwaves following their rise to the summit of Bradford cricket; a historic victory against champions Woodlands being the pick of the bunch.

Despite a slight shift in momentum in the past few weeks, Younis believes that his side have been unfortunate in some respects.

He said: “First of all, it’s not been easy. Last week we got rained off and then the week before that we had another stop-start game because of the weather against Bankfoot, which we lost.

“So, it’s been very frustrating recently but there is not a lot we can do about it. Of course, we expect this kind of weather in England but after last summer’s heat, we were hopeful that we might get away with games being cancelled this time around.

“I was surprised that last week’s weather didn’t bring a complete washout to all of the fixtures in the league, but it didn’t. The forecast is so unpredictable in this country that, although it looks like no games will go ahead this weekend on paper, you just never know what will happen.”

Younis added: “We are without a win in three league games, yes, that’s correct, but I don’t think there is anything to be concerned about.

“At the start of the season our target was always to survive and to consolidate ourselves in this division, which I think we are very close to doing.

“We had always looked at getting to the 200-point mark and we aren’t too far from achieving that, so we are very comfortable with where we are at. I’ve spoken to the boys and I’ve reiterated to them that we are doing well.

“I have to remind them that it is our first season in this division and that it will take time to completely gel as a fairly new squad. For sure, we don’t have any concerns with where we are at currently.”

Weather permitting, Jer Lane do travel to Hanging Heaton today in a fixture that is seen as a routine victory for the visitors, however Younis admitted that their opposition, who sit at the foot of the Bradford Premier Division table, can’t be taken too lightly.

He said: “Hanging Heaton are a good side, especially with the bat, so we can’t look too much into their positioning in the league table.

“If we do look at it that way, then there is potential for a banana skin and another defeat for ourselves. It’s important that we get back to winning ways if the game does go ahead and that we play well. The performance is key and then hopefully the result will follow.”