Morley are not a two-man team by any means but the new JCT600 Bradford League Division Two leaders owe a huge debt to overseas batsman Shoaib Khan and off- spinner Stephen Lane.

Khan, who missed the first match against Undercliffe, has scored 382 runs in four league and cup matches, while Lane has taken 20 wickets, including a hat-trick against Gomersal.

Both players will have key roles as Morley aim to win promotion back to Division One at the first attempt following last season's relegation - and they have made a great start with four wins out of four.

Lane and Khan dominated their 71-run home win over bottom club Lightcliffe that took them four points clear at the top after previous leaders Esholt's surprise five-wicket home defeat against Great Horton.

Khan scored 102 out of Morley's 161 before Lane ran through the Lightcliffe innings with six for 32 in 12 overs.

Morley's innings would have been in a sorry state without Khan. Coming in when they had lost their first wicket at 19, he stood firm as wickets fell regularly at the other end until he was ninth out in the last over, caught on the boundary edge at 161 off Aleem Ladak after he had reached his second century of the season with a six over mid-wicket off the previous delivery. His innings included three sixes and nine fours.

Just how much Morley relied on him is shown by the fact that only two other batsmen - Richard Haikings (13) and Colin Nuttall (10) - reached double figures.

In fact, they struggled to such an extent that they were only 40 for three from 20 overs before Khan guided them to what seemed to be a competitive but surely not an insurmountable total.

Ultimately, it proved to be more than enough as Lightcliffe also lost wickets at regular intervals but while skipper and opener Richard Nichols and overseas batsman Bilal Hussain were together they looked to have a sporting chance of victory.

Then, after this pair put on 36 for the second wicket, Hussain was trapped lbw by Lane for 25 - a decision that Lightcliffe disputed - and when top scorer Nichols was fifth out, bowled by James Russell for 29 at 63, hopes of victory evaporated and they lost their last five wickets for nine runs.

Lane, who finished with figures of six for 32 in 12 overs, turning the ball as well as pushing through a faster delivery, said: "We have just got to be positive and it helps when you have got a successful overseas player in Shoaib Khan.

"We want to get straight back into the First Division and we have made a good start with four wins out of four. Relegation hurt us - we know we are good enough to stay in Division One."

Captain Nichols, who joined Lightcliffe from Bradford & Bingley during the winter, said: "We did really well in the first half. Credit to our bowlers - they did extremely well and Aleem ended up with five wickets, which he thoroughly deserved.

"At halfway we were in a good position after restricting them to 161. The wicket played well all through, Bilal was playing well and at that stage we were looking good, but unfortunately we lost him and then our main run-scorer Jonathan Wilson in the same over, which put a different complexion on it.

"James Horne produced a good rearguard effort but we were not able to support him. As a batting side, we have not laid a platform in any match."