Accrington are still challenging for the league title this season but they have already put plans in place for next summer by re-signing professional Ashar Zaidi.
The 30-year-old Pakistani has been a star for the Thorneyholme Road side in his first season in the Lancashire League.
He is the leading the way in the run charts with 704 runs, with two centuries, and has taken 36 wickets
His 174 at Rawtenstall – who Accrington face this weekend – was the second highest innings by an Accrington player in the club’s highest score of 386-6.
And he also set a new Lancashire League record fifth wicket stand of 247 with Graham Lloyd (112) in the same match.
"It’s happy days for us," said skipper Jimmy Hayhurst.
"We are glad to have it nailed down as soon as possible as I am sure other clubs would have come in with offers for him.
"He is great for us because he is based in Manchester, so we don’t have to worry about visas and things like that.
"And we like continuity and stability and we have now got that.
"He has also settled in really well and been brilliant for us so far.
"He will be, or be close to being, the leading runscorer in the league and he is also a top wicket taker.
"We would have faced competition for him if we had left it any longer and we are glad he likes us and has signed."
Accrington were joint top leaders ahead of the weekend but their game on Saturday – the third fixed date – was rained off while Lowerhouse stole a march on the rest of the league by playing.
These games could be replayed on the fifth fixed date – September 10 – although they are dependent on no other games being called off due to the weather between now and the end of the season.
While some captains may think Saturday’s games should be replayed, Hayhurst thinks other things will have a bearing on who wins the league title rather than just this one weekend, with all the games off on Sunday, to be replayed on September 3.
"To be honest, I won’t be demanding they are replayed on September 10 as that’s cricket. I am quite accepting of the situation," said the Accrington skipper.
"If we don’t win the title it won’t be because of this one Saturday as we still have Lowerhouse to play twice and that will have a bigger bearing on things.
"It’s only a gap of seven points which isn’t massive with our points system.
"Our run-in is tough with Lowerhouse twice, Nelson, Church, Haslingden and Ramsbottom and it’s a case of you have to beat everyone if you want to win the title, so it is down to us. It won’t be easy but we will be giving it our best shot."
