J & G Meakins is delighted to announce the signing for former County pro, Sukhjit Singh, for their 2024 North Staffs and South Cheshire League campaign.
“Sunny”, as he’s affectionately known, is a left-arm spinner and handy lower-order batter who has excelled in club cricket for the best part of a decade.
Last summer, he bagged 53 wickets at 18.51, with 3 five wicket hauls for New Brighton in the top tier of the Liverpool and District Cricket Competition. This was his maiden stint with the Merseyside club having dominated the Birmingham League for Smethwick, in-particular, before a short stint with Walsall.
The left-arm tweaker comes with quite the pedigree. Sunny made his Championship debut for Warwickshire in May 2017, and in doing so became the first cricketer to have graduated to that level having come through the Chance to Shine programme.
Sunny moved to England from Punjab, in northern India, as a 10-year-old. At the time he spoke no English and struggled to integrate or progress at school. But the visit of Eaton Gordon, a Warwickshire Cricket Board coach, changed his life and offered a pathway into the professional sport.
Eaton noted Sunny’s talent and enthusiasm and encouraged him to join his own club side, Handsworth CC. From there, he was encouraged to attend trials at Warwickshire and he was selected at U16 level and then taken into the club’s academy. From there, he made his 2nd XI debut in 2014 and was sent to the Darren Lehman Academy in Adelaide on the recommendation of England spin coach, Peter Such. He impressed Ashley Giles, Warwickshire’s Director of Cricket at the time, in the nets ahead of the 2017 season and, as a result, jumped ahead of the likes of Josh Poysden in the battle for selection.
Sunny made his first-class debut against Oxford MCCU in April 2017. With Jeetan Patel assured of his place as the club’s first-choice spinner, opportunities were limited. But Singh took a maiden five-for against Hampshire and followed it with another against Somerset. As a result, his contract was extended until the end of the 2018 season. However, due to limited appearances, Sunny was released from contract and hasn’t featured at County level since.
At club level, Sunny starred for Birmingham League outfit Smethwick, taking 177 wickets at 21.31 alongside 1262 runs at 15.20 from the lower-middle order. Whilst known predominantly for his left-arm tweak, Sunny has produced valuable runs in recent years for Smethwick, to include a strong 2018 season comprising 360 runs at 30, to include an incredible 107* (82 balls) from number 8 against Premier Division side Kenilworth Wardens.
The Birmingham-based prospect is now looking forward to his new venture in 2024 having signed with J & G Meakins for their North Staffs and South Cheshire League campaign.
