Saltaire are under investigation as to whether they have fielded a second overseas player in the Bradford Cricket League this season.

Clubs are only allowed one, and Bilal Asad is their nominated 'foreigner', but fingers have been pointed at Mohammed Asim.

The crux of the case against sixth-placed Division One side Saltaire is whether Asim played for them in the opening weeks of this season without having fulfilled the necessary five-year residency qualification.

Saltaire's league representative Reg Nelson said: "We have a photo of him off the Internet playing for the St George's club in Shropshire in 1999.

"This is his sixth season of playing club cricket in England because he has not returned to Pakistan, but it is a question of whether he started playing for St George's in mid-April or late April that year.

"It is very difficult to prove or disprove, but I can assure you that we did all our homework where the player was concerned. The matter is still being thoroughly investigated by the league's executive committee, but Saltaire have been co-operating with everything that league secretary Bob Shackleton has asked of us.

"However, the very worst we (Saltaire) might be guilty of is playing him for a week or two at the start of the season when he hadn't fulfilled the five-year residency qualification."

The Bradford League deducted seven points from Division Two side Yeadon earlier this season for playing skipper Damon Gormley when he didn't have clearance from his previous club Scarborough.

And Nelson said: "If Saltaire are found guilty, then I would hope that we would only have points taken off us for the weeks when Asim wasn't 'legal'."

League chairman Graham Reid said at the league's monthly meeting at Pudsey Congs: "Stringent enquiries have been made and I am sure that the club have acted in good faith.

"But the club have been told that he cannot play for them until the league have seen his passport."