Shropshire’s leading tennis players will be hoping to make home advantage count when Winter County Cup comes to Shrewsbury this weekend.

The Shropshire men take on Staffordshire, Leicestershire and Suffolk in group 5A at the Welti Centre.

Ian Gillespie will again combine playing and captaincy duties – and is happy with the squad at his disposal.

“I’m pleased with the strength in depth in our squad and we are hoping to put on a good performance in front of our local supporters,” said Gillespie.

“I believe that we have a good mix of youth and experience, catering for both singles and doubles matches.

“I have selected more players in the squad this year, knowing full well how physically and mentally challenging the weekend can be.”

The Shropshire squad includes Ben White, who is back representing Shropshire after an absence, and debutant John Thompson.

“I’m very pleased to see Ben back on court competing,” added Gillespie. “He will be playing singles high up our order and is a player that is capable of producing some unbelievable tennis.

“John is up for the challenge and is in line to compete lower down the order in the singles.”

The squad also boasts a host of Shropshire regulars, including Alan Bevan, Steve Tart, Matt Davies, Dominic Clewes, Adam Baldwin, Ben Disley and James Knight. Both Thompson and Clewes are coaches at Welti.

The action gets underway on Friday, with Shropshire opening against Staffordshire.

“We had a very close encounter against them in the Summer County Week, going down 5-4,” said Gillespie.

“That is still very much in the minds of some of our players who played and will be looking for sweet revenge.”

Each match consists of six singles and three doubles rubbers, with the winner of the round-robin group promoted when play ends on Sunday night.

• Admission for the tournament, which begins at 10am on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, is free – and spectators are welcome.

By James Garrison