Lancashire are happy to welcome Bangladeshi wonderkid Farhad Reza to Old Trafford. With the 4 day batting looking weak last year he'll add competition for places, and gives the option of a bits and pieces player in the OD arena.
Fellow draftees Nikhil Patwardhan(Ind) and Sajeewa Weerakoon(SL) look like breaking into the FC side whilst Kuldeep Diwan(Ind) may well make an appearance in OD cricket.
They join established stars H Fernando(SL), Nikhil Doru(Ind), Sufyan Munir(Pak) and Vijay Bahradwaj(Ind) and in a strong asian contingent, further boosted by the prescence of Yudhisthir Mongia, born in Bolton but of Indian descent.
English rookies Zack Harris, Ashton Freeman, Thane Truscott and Merlin Crawford will play an important part, especially young tearaway Freeman who is expected to form a devestating new ball partnership with Mongia.
The batting will be based upon old hands Albert Anderton(Eng), Freddie Yapp(Aus), Stu Stanton(Aus) and Bharadwaj, with Maurice Aronstam(SA) helping out in FC and Munir in OD.
Doru and Patwarhdan will probably split the Wicket keeping duties with the latter taking the gloves in FC and former in OD. Fernando will provide back up for the opening bowlers in FC, whilst adding some lower order steel, in what many believe will be a tooth and nail battle against relegation in both forms of the game.