By Martin Gough BBC Sport Online

Less than six weeks ago he took four wickets as South Africa snatched a consolation third Test win over world champions Australia in Durban.

Paul Adams' home is in Cape Town, where temperatures in Celcius, even in autumnal May, can get into the 30s.

But instead of lazing by the side of Table Bay, the unorthodox slow left-armer will be spending much of this off-season playing cricket near Blackburn in the north-west of England.

So how is Adams finding it so far?

"It's cold," he says simply. "It's been difficult coming on early in a match when the ball's quite new and my fingers are cold.

"But the guys have told me not to worry, that it will get warmer and the wickets will turn more as the season goes on."

Adams is one of eight South Africans - four of whom have played international cricket this season - plying their trade in the Lancashire League.

The league has never been short on overseas talent - Rishton alone has in the past boasted names such as Donald, Gillespie, Richards, Holding, Azharuddin, and one Duncan Fletcher in 1977

But few can remember a year when there have been more professionals from the Republic.

Gulf in talent

As well as Adams, pace bowler Charl Langeveldt, all-rounder Andrew Hall - who scored 70 on Test debut against Australia - and batsman Jacques Rudolph all take their league bows this year.

"Rishton just gave me a call and asked if I wanted to come over," says Adams.

"It's an opportunity to learn and get some extra experience, and perhaps a little step to playing county cricket in future."

Former Australian leg-spinner Peter Sleep - now 44 and a naturalised Englishman - is one of Adams' team-mates, and he is confident that once the weather improves, the South African will be a handful.

And, although he has seen a few good local players, Adams believes the difference in standard from first-class cricket is quite marked.

"There are one or two batsmen in each side who play quite straight but the rest are pretty unorthodox; they like a good slog."

Enfield chairman Geoff Dixon says that the standard of amateur players has dropped in what is still the most famous league in the country.

And the professional names are not as big as they were, a problem Dixon puts down to the increasing demand of Test teams during the English summer.

Australian one-day all-rounder Shane Lee has turned out for Enfield in the past and they had signed his brother Brett, but the speedster was forced to pull out with a back injury.

Value for money

This year's overseas man is Martin van Jaarsveld, who starred for South Africa A this season and who last year was just short of the club record for runs in a season, 1959 set by West Indian Conrad Hunte.

Dixon says there have never been as many South Africans in the league.