Shropshire Star

Shifnal shuffle the pack for derby day

Shifnal head to county rivals Wellington tomorrow aiming to get back on track in Birmingham League Division One after being knocked off top spot.

Published

A loss to Himley last weekend leaves them eight points behind new table-toppers Moseley with eight games played.

The hosts, meanwhile, are third-from-bottom but beat rock-bottom Attock last time out.

Shifnal skipper Tom Collins said: “We were very disappointed with the result last Saturday. Playing against Wellington, there’s local bragging rights on the line.

“I’m confident if we play the way we have been, prior to last weekend against Himley, then we should be OK.”

But Shifnal are without some key players for the fixture, including Collins, and Jack McIver and Alex Wyatt – who play for Shropshire in the Minor Counties Championship.

Chris Murrall will be captain in Collins’ absence, while Mark Bissell has moved down to the seconds.

Joe Chadwick and Jonathan Mountford are moving up, while all-rounder Charlie Home returns to the side.

Collins added: “We have got quite a few players out, including myself.

“Wellington have some pretty dangerous players too that we need to be wary of. We haven’t played them for a few years.

“We have to just make sure last weekend was a blip – it is a long season, sometimes you don’t play great and the other team is better on the day.

“We are looking to bounce back from that.”

Also in Division One, Bridgnorth are hoping to keep up a good run as they host Walmley.

The Cricket Meadow outfit won by two wickets at Bromsgrove last time out, and claimed a winning draw against Himley the weekend prior.

However, Simon Gregory is unavailable so Sam Baugh comes in for Sam Whitney’s side.