Rana Naved will arrive in Yorkshire today after securing the work permit that he had struggled to obtain ahead of the 2009 season

Rana Naved will arrive in Yorkshire today after securing the work permit that he had struggled to obtain ahead of the 2009 season.

The Yorkshire County Cricket Club had given Rana a deadline of 1st May to arrive back at Headingley Carnegie Cricket Ground and by making this ultimatum public it appears that the overseas authorities were driven to assist Rana’s plight.

The Club made it clear last week that no blame was attached to Rana who had made every effort to secure the required paperwork in order to return to play cricket in the UK and had stayed in regular contact with the Club throughout. It would appear that a cricket loving administrator in Abu Dhabi, where the majority of Pakistan’s passport issues are dealt with at the moment, read the news of Rana’s situation in the local media and decided to take action to aid the Pakistani bowler’s return to Headingley Carnegie.

Stewart Regan, Yorkshire ’s Chief Executive, said: “It is tremendous to have Rana Naved back at Headingley Carnegie and we are delighted this matter has now been resolved. Rana had been struggling to push his paperwork through the system, but cricket is a universal language and it seems cricket fans in the UAE were prompted to cut the red tape to assist Rana’s return to Yorkshire .”

Martyn Moxon, Yorkshire’s Director of Professional Cricket, said: “Rana has been playing cricket in Pakistan this winter and performing extremely well. We’re looking forward to his return and can now plan for the season knowing that our overseas berth is filled.”