Newport make the short journey into Staffordshire to take on newly promoted Milford Hall tomorrow before the visit to old rivals Bridgnorth for what promises to be a spicy derby on Monday.

Newport opening batsman Paul Furniss returns to boost the batting while Will Parton, who has turned in some solid bowling performances for the seconds, comes in for the unavailable Gareth Bowen.

He joins brothers Andy and Eddie in the team.

“We had hoped that Rajat Bhatia would be in England by now, but his side, the Delhi Daredevils, have reached the final stages of the IPL in South Africa, so it will be next week before he joins,” said club chairman Bob Williams.

“The narrow win against Studeley last week gave us a real boost and we will be looking to build on this over the weekend.

“Our batting looked fragile last week, but the return of Paul Furniss should give us some much needed stability,” he added.

St Georges have two chances to claim their second win of the season in the second division with a bumper Bank Holiday weekend programme which sees them take to the field in clashes with teams above and below them in the league.

On Saturday the Saints host high-fliers Wombourne before travelling to second from bottom Penn for Monday’s match.

Captain and wicketkeeper Matt Tilt said the team has been handed a boost as he prepares to welcome opening batsman Chris Miller and pace bowler Carl Ward back into the fold for John Parkes and Sultan Choudhary.

“Both games will be pretty difficult for us,” said Tilt.

“Wombourne are a pretty strong outfit and although Penn have started their season poorly they are still among the favourites for the league.”

Bridgnorth will look to distance themselves from mid table mediocrity when they travel to second from bottom Eastnor on Saturday before Monday’s derby clash.

Whitchurch will be aiming to climb the table again when they face early strugglers Aston Unity on Saturday then host Coleshill on Monday.

It follows a good spell for the north Shropshire men who picked up 16 points from a winning draw with Milford Hall at Heath Road last weekend in which Pakistani pro Maz Hasnain chalked up two runs short of a century as his team put together a formidable 227-3.