Heathens need to build up a big lead

The Anchor Logistics Heathens will be aiming to build up a lead against the regular league leaders ahead of Saturday’s decider at the Paul Chapman and Sons Arena.

But it will be far from easy against a strong Lion Cubs side who have some Perry Barr track specialists in their ranks.

Danyon Hume won the league with Birmingham in 2016 and also had a brief stint with the Brummies in this year’s Championship whilst Josh Embleton was a member of their 2018 squad.

Dan and Joe Thompson were regular mascots at the circuit last season while No.1 Ellis Perks had a year of experience there in 2015 during Cradley’s tenure in the second city.

There’s no doubt that the Heathens will be the underdogs – but that’s a tag that suits them down to the ground according to skipper Max Clegg.

“We know it’s going to be hard but we’ve done so well to get this far and we want the season to keep going for as long as possible,” Clegg said.

“If we can make some good starts then there’s no reason why we can’t take some sort of lead to their place at the weekend.

“We know it’s at Birmingham but we’ll need the fans to come and get behind us in big numbers and give the boys plenty of support.”

Admission has been cut to just £10 for adults and concessions while season tickets are not valid.

With Luke Harris on Championship play-off duty with Somerset, experienced campaigner Luke Priest has been booked to deputise.

Cradley: Max Clegg, Luke Priest, Tom Spencer, Jack Smith, Danny Halsey, Harry McGurk, James Chattin.

Leicester: Ellis Perks, Dan Thompson, Luke Ruddick, Joe Thompson, Danyon Hume, Josh Embleton, Ryan Terry-Daley.