BRIDGNORTH go into the weekend’s clash with near-neighbours Oswestry aiming to make it two wins on the spin following last weekend’s nine-wicket win over Studley.
The Birmingham & District Premier League promotion hopefuls booked their first win of the division three campaign at the fourth attempt to kick-start their season.
And club captain Mark MacPherson-Lees said the team will be aiming to repeat the trick when they travel to Morda Road for a battle against fellow promotion contenders Oswestry.
But neither side is taking anything for granted in a battle that, on paper, looks extremely close.
Bridgnorth sit just four points above tomorrow’s opponents and both sides remain undefeated after four matches, albeit with a single win each to their respective names.
MacPherson-Lees said: “They are always good games when we play Oswestry. They have got a lot of strength in depth and it will be a tough game but we are looking forward to it.
“They are a good side; they have started off well but we are going to be positive and try to play a brand of cricket that will allow us to take the maximum amount of points.”
Their hopes of doing so will be boosted by the return of bowler Tom Weaver from a knee injury.
Weaver will be making his first appearance for the first team this season, replacing Cam Wallis who drops to the second team.
Meanwhile batsmen Greg Lewis and Ian Gough will replace AJ Smith who is unavailable and Mathew Martin who will instead be playing for Shropshire’s county hockey team.
The return of Weaver is slightly ahead of the anticipated time frame but MacPherson-Lees said: “He has played a couple of midweek games and he was fine.
“There was no reaction from his knee in training on Tuesday and he is ready to go but we will take it steady with him.”
MacPherson-Lees’ side have a tough run in the next four games, with Oswestry followed by the current top three in Penkridge, Tamworth and Stourbridge.
He admitted the run could influence their final league standing but added: “We will take each game as it comes and try not to get ahead of ourselves.”
Last weekend’s victory over Studley saw Sam and Jonathan Whitney both take four wickets as Bridgnorth dismissed their opponents for 125 in a 40-over match.
James Ralph, who took the remaining wickets, then notched up 69 runs while AJ Smith and Andrew Carson added 29 and 11 respectively to seal the win and earn 20 precious league points.