It was long odds on Fahid Rehman reaching 1,000 runs in the JCT600 Bradford League this season going into the last weekend.

The Saltaire batsman stood on 799 before the final two matches but made 53 on the Saturday in the loss against Morley and an unbeaten 149 the following day in the victory over Windhill.

That took the Bradford University student to 1,001 runs for the campaign and helped the Roberts Park club to Division Two promotion.

He said: “We declared five overs early against Windhill – I could have made a double hundred!”

Rehman, who is the first Bradford-born Asian to reach the landmark, has moved on a couple of notches with his batting in 2011.

The former Bowling Old Lane and Windhill player, who also had a season with Appleby Frodingham in the Yorkshire League, said: “I used to get out in the twenties and thirties but my concentration has improved.

“It is also down to the hard work I put in practising last winter.”

Rehman, who captained his university this season and scored 202 not in a cup quarter-final against Sunderland, had made a gradual improvement until this season.

He said: “I got into the first team at Old Lane when I was 14 and spent a couple of seasons there before joining Appleby Frodingham.

"I made about 500 runs for them and 600 the following season for Windhill before joining Saltaire, and you are facing quality bowlers in the Bradford League.

“I have two more years left at university doing optometry, and the aim is to play for Leeds-Bradford UCCE next season and test myself against first-class opposition.

“After that, who knows? But if I play for Saltaire in Division One I would hope that we are not fighting a relegation battle.

“I would like to think that we will make some decent signings, have a decent overseas player and be in mid-table.”

Rehman, who turned 20 in July and finished third in the Division Two batting averages behind fellow 1,000-run merchants, former Yorkshire player Chris Taylor and Great Horton’s overseas star Suleman Khan, is not the only youngster to make a big impression with the bat this season.

Farsley’s Joe Greaves, also 20, scored five centuries in Division One, which is not too far off the best ever of seven by Grant Lambert for Division Two Spen Victoria in 2000.

Greaves’ achievement of five tons was matched by his team-mate, overseas player Lorenzo Ingram, who topped the divisional averages with an impressive 87.69. Ingram also won the batting averages last season.

Woodlands’ former Yorkshire opener Scott Richardson also broke four figures with 1,010 runs, which was nine less than Greaves.

But their key asset was again their bowling, with Sarfraz Ahmed and Pieter Swanepoel finishing first and second in the averages, as they did in 2007, and the Albert Terrace club also had the leading wicket-keeper in Usman Salim, who bagged 38 victims.

He finally broke the hold of Cleckheaton’s Michael Nicholson (36 victims), who had finished top for the previous four seasons but missed the last two matches after damaging a finger at work.

Yeadon’s Damon Gormley won the Division Two bowling with a miserly 9.68, and was the only bowler to break double figures.

Bowling Old Lane’s Mapa Bandara was the leading wicket-keeper with 42 victims.