Former Yorkshire and Hampshire paceman Peter Hartley has been putting the Bradford and Leeds Universities' Centre of Excellence squad through their paces as they step up preparations for their inaugural season.

Keighley-born Hartley, 40, who has now moved the family home from Riddlesden to Haworth, was invited to take charge of three indoor sessions by the Centre's coach Kevin Sharp.

And Hartley, who bowed out of first-class cricket at the end of last season in Hampshire's final match against Yorkshire, was impressed with the youngsters under his charge and felt there were at least three budding fast bowlers good enough to make the grade - including Yorkshire's apprentice seamer Chris Elstub, who was brought up with Bradford League club Spen Victoria.

"I have always enjoyed helping younger players, and I started by telling them how I to prepare for a match and how to play to a game- plan," said Hartley.

"Then I went into the physical and mental approach to cricket before taking them into the nets to see how they shaped up.

"It will be nice to see how they progress, but all their cricket so far has been indoors and they will find it all so different once they are outside playing on grass."

Sharp was only too happy for his squad to receiving assistance from his former Yorkshire colleague.

"Peter is brilliant with young players and he quickly built up a rapport," he said. "He always appears pretty easy going and relaxed, but he's got a deep knowledge of the game and is a splendid communicator. I am sure he will be helping out with more specialist coaching in the future."

Hartley, who now works full-time with a screen printing company, revealed that he had received many offers from league clubs during the winter, but was sticking to his intention when he left Hampshire of retiring completely from cricket.

"I have been approached by clubs in the Bradford League, Huddersfield League and Central Lancashire League, as well as Minor Counties, but I have declined all the offers," he said.

"League cricket is very time-consuming these days and takes up all your weekends and if I had been thinking of playing then I would have been just as well staying with Hampshire where I was very happy and well looked after."

Hartley is not the only one to have given specialist coaching sessions at the Centre during the winter. Martyn Moxon did a stint before quitting Yorkshire for Durham, and county coach David 'George' Batty has also been involved.

The players hope to be practising outdoors at Bradford Park Avenue from the beginning of April, and Sharp's next big job is to select the team for the three-day clash with Derbyshire at Derby, starting on Easter Monday (April 16), which marks the start of the Centre's season.