JER LANE captain Raqeeb Younis believes that expectations should be lowered for his side in their maiden Bradford Premier League (Premier Division) campaign.

The new boys in Bradford’s top cricket division have made a strong start to life this season having one four out of their opening nine league fixtures, which has seen them rise to fifth in the table.

Younis’ men have already beaten the three-time reigning champions Woodlands and a victory today against Pudsey Congs would see Jer Lane claim a third league win on the bounce.

Despite their incredibly respectable start to life in the Premier Division, calls from the outside for Jer Lane to aim higher this season have been quashed by the club’s captain.

Younis said: “No, we shouldn’t (be aiming higher). A lot of people have said that we should be aiming a lot higher, but my feeling is that this is a very tough division, 65 % off our players are new and because of that it’s going to take a while for them to gel.

“The games that we lost early in the season; if we’d have played them games now then I feel we would have won those matches because we are far more experienced in the division and we’ve had more time to gel. As a team, we now know our weaknesses, strengths and what we need to improve on, which is why we’ve started to play a little bit better.

“You’re right, it is a new Jer Lane and that means it will take time to get to our best level; I don’t think we’ve played a perfect game yet, and that’s what excites me. There’s definitely a lot more to come from my boys this season, that’s for sure.”

A victory for Jer Lane at Pudsey Congs on Saturday would be their third consecutive Bradford Premier League (Premier Division) victory – a result which would reaffirm the newly promoted side’s top division credentials ahead of the halfway point of the season. However, Younis admitted that his side can’t get carried away with their recent form.

He said: “The aim for the committee and the club at the start of the season was to survive; I know we’ve had a lot of success over the years and we’ve started this season well, but we need to be realistic. Last year took us by surprise because we didn’t expect to do what we did; it was a remarkable promotion-winning campaign. We’d actually targeted a top four spot, and then we had planned to reassess things at the end of the season. However, we got promotion, so this year our targets can’t be too high. It’s all about survival and as I said, it’s a new team and it will take time to gel, so we must not get ahead of ourselves.”

At the beginning of April Jer Lane’s much-loved president Malcolm Nixon died aged 79, a man who gave 50 years of service to his beloved club as a player, second team captain, groundsman, and most recently President.

Younis, who captained his side to a famous victory over Premier Division champions Woodlands on June 3, admitted that the passing of the club’s President has given the club extra motivation to showcase their talents in Bradford’s top division this season.

Younis said: “In memory of him (Malcolm), it 100% makes this season more motivating. Malc was always by our side; every game he was always up there supporting the lads and even when he was ill, he wanted to get to matches to see the lads play some cricket. I spoke to him at every opportunity throughout the winter and he’d always earmarked the Woodlands game because his son, James, does groundwork down there, so he was especially looking forward to that fixture. So, I’m sure he’ll be smiling down at us right now after the start we’ve made to the season.”

Jer Lane face off with Pudsey Congs today – the side second from bottom – but Younis believes that his team will face a tough test this afternoon.

He said: “I would never think as if we were favourites against Pudsey Congs because they’re a very tough outfit, they beat us convincingly twice last year and I don’t even think we got a point against them. We would never take Pudsey lightly and we won’t be doing this weekend despite their position in the table (11th).

“I feel they might be lacking a bit of experience, but they have great quality and I think it will only take them a bit of time to find their feet in the division. We just hope that’s not this weekend against us.”