LANCASHIRE League champions Lowerhouse are on the look out for a new paid man after Andrew McDonald confirmed he wouldn't be returning for the 2006 campaign.

The Victoria Bushrangers all-rounder played a pivotal role in the Liverpool Road side's first title in their 119-year history - scoring 702 runs at 54 and taking 68 wickets at 12 apiece.

And Lowerhouse's cricket manager Stan Heaton admitted McDonald's decision to stay in Australia was disappointing.

He said: "It's a severe blow to us. Andrew is an extremely good cricketer and did a great job for us.

"We didn't want any disruption to our settled title-winning side so this is disappointing news but we knew it was always going to be a possibility.

"Although no one player wins a league, it's fair to say that Andrew complimented the club beautifully on and off the field and without him we wouldn't have won the league."

So the search is on for the champions but Heaton added that the club already have a few irons in the fire.

"We always look for a pro who can compliment our amateur line-up," he said.

"There are a lot of good cricketers around at the moment. A lot of them will be waiting to see if they can be fixed up with counties but hopefully we can get sorted sooner rather than later."