Longton has agreed terms with former Worcestershire batsman Riki Wessels for the 2022 season of the North Staffs and South Cheshire League.
The 35-year-old made a huge impact in the Premier Division after joining Ripon Road in the second half of this season.
Longton had seen the batsman Saad Ali return to Pakistan from overseas – and was looking for a reinforcement for his batting team.
Wessels had just left Worcestershire and made a short-term deal until the end of the campaign.
He played in six high profile matches and hit three centuries along the way when Longton finished second.
Wessels has now signed a contract to play for the club next summer.
“I think Riki is still in the market for something top notch, but hopefully he’ll be available to us as much as possible,” said Skipper Ed Jones.
“He’s been brilliant for us since he came. You can’t argue with three hundred in six league games.
“Riki has a lot of experience and is ready to share it with me and give advice. If you don’t listen to someone of his stature, you won’t listen to anyone. “
In his professional career, Wessels has played 224 first-class matches, beating 23 tons, as well as being involved in 179 List A matches and 237 Twenty20 encounters.
He announced his arrival at Longton with an impressive 126 on his debut against Bagnall Norton on August 7th – and followed the next week with 101 against Stone SP.
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Wessels rounded off the campaign last weekend with an unbeaten 100th win for Longton over Moddershall & Oulton.
This ensured that Longton finished six points behind Masters Meakins – for the second year in a row they were brought forward for the title.
They looked like they were going to be crowned winners in 2020, but a final day loss at Meakins gave Porthill Park the cutlery.
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Wessels also helped them win the Twenty20 Cup this summer.
“We’re establishing ourselves as challengers,” added Jones. “We had lost a five-week period in which we didn’t win a game this season and also because of rain, which turned out to be costly.
“You can’t have a run like this if you want to win the title.”