Old Hill face promotion showdown
Old Hill may face a winner-take-all promotion showdown with Bromsgrove on the final day of the season, director of cricket Steve Derham admits.
Old Hill may face a winner-take-all promotion showdown with Bromsgrove on the final day of the season, director of cricket Steve Derham admits.
The sides, who are currently second and third in the first division table, are due to meet on the last Saturday of the season.
Derham knows the three-way race for two promotion places, also featuring leaders Shrewsbury, is increasingly likely to go down to the wire.
He said: "It has been tight for while now and it looks more and more like our game with Bromsgrove might be a very big one.
"There are still five games to go and obviously there will be a few twists and turns along the way. We hope that a few of those go in our favour, but it looks like it is going to stay very close all the way."
Old Hill take on Dorridge away on Saturday, before entertaining Attock at home on Monday.
Cannock captain Liam Hickey insists his side are confident - despite a double-header against two promotion-chasing sides.
Third-from-bottom Cannock take on second-placed Bromsgrove on Saturday and sixth-place Halesowen on Monday, knowing defeats could leave them in the relegation zone.
Hickey believes his side will be in high spirits, after they dismissed Dorridge for 148 last week before rain forced an abandonment.
He said: "We can take confidence from the way we bowled and fielded on Saturday.
Greg Bloomer has earned a recall to the batting line-up for the weekend, having hit a half century for the second XI last weekend.
Halesowen will take on Coventry and North Warwickshire on Saturday, before facing Cannock on Monday.
Smethwick captain David Banks will use memories of defeat to Evesham to motivate his players when the sides meet again on Saturday.
Banks's division two table-toppers suffered their only defeat of the season when they were beaten heavily by Evesham.
He belives his players should be looking to prove a point when they take on the same team, in phase one of a Bank Holiday double-header.
He said: "I can't say we won't be beaten again but I'd like to think we won't be beaten as heavily again.
"It was the worst we have played all season. It hurt me and I hope it hurt other people in the team as well, so it should motivate us to give a better performance when we play them again."
The chasing pack closed the gap on Smethwick last week, as rain played havoc, but Banks's men have the chance to pull clear against Evesham on Saturday and Newport on Monday.
Third-placed Penn take on Aston Manor on Saturday and Tamworth on Monday, knowing wins over their mid-table opponents could massively enhance their hopes of promotion.
