WELLINGTON Cricket Club has moved early to arrange its overseas player for the 2016 season and has secured the services of 24 year old wicketkeeper and top order batsman Zandre Swartz who has played the game at First Class level for Griqualand West (now called Northern Cape).

He is currently playing in the Northern Cape Cricket Association’s Premier League for St Patrick’s CBC CC as well as at both List A and T20 formats for the Northern Cape state side. Alongside having played for Pwllheli CC in the North Wales Premier League in 2015 where he realised over 500 runs, the Red and Blacks are sure they have secured an excellent performer for next summer’s season in which they will be playing in the new-look West of England Premier League at Tier Three’s Somerset Division and one that will be testing for sure as some fresh opposition will feature in the form of clubs who have played in the higher echelons of the league in the last few seasons.

Commenting on the process that delivered Zandre to the club a spokesperson said: “Club captain Alex Sparks was enquiring in respect of an overseas player for 2016 as soon as the last ball of 2015 was delivered.

“While the process that saw Joel Brockley and Wian Gouws come to the club in 2014 and 2015 respectively was a successful one it was undertaken towards the end of our winter and there was little time to spare if anything has not quite worked out.

“This way we have our chosen player signed up before Christmas and have plenty of time after the holiday period to deal with the administrative and logistical side of this arrangement.”

Zandre is set to arrive in the UK in the first week of April 2016.