RICKY RAWLINS assumes command of Sarisbury Athletic as they prepare for their Hampshire Academy double header.
The Sarisbury opener, who hit a brilliant 139 in his side’s much-needed win over Alton in the Southern Electric premier division last week, takes over the captaincy from Matt Journeaux, who is away.
Sarisbury are hit with another blow with Dan Goldstraw – who took seven for 60 last week – also unavailable, writes Steve Wilson of The News..
Sam Floyd and Mark Miller come in to the side for the league showdown but Journeaux is back in charge for Sunday’s Southern ElectrictT20 Cup quarter-final at the Ageas Bowl Nursery Ground (2pm).
Journeaux, however, believes his side can build on last weekend’s victory to plot their way out of trouble.
He said: ‘The win last week gives us a bit of a chance to get ourselves away from trouble.
‘We’ve got games coming up against teams around us and it gives us that bit of confidence to go on a run.
‘The league is so tight that we know if we can put a few results together, we will be back in the top half.
‘But we can’t switch off because I think we probably need another three wins to be safe, maybe more.
‘Whoever goes down, it will not be a team that gets cut adrift. I think they will win at least four games.
‘We want to get clear of trouble going into the last few games.’
Sarisbury looked like a team in big trouble before last week’s win after five straight defeats.
But Journeaux felt his men were close to turning the corner.
He said: ‘We were unlucky to come out on the wrong end of a close game against Burridge two weeks ago.
‘Where we have been on a bad run of form, we lost it.
‘When things aren’t going that well, it can fall like that.
‘But we came back with a big win so it was good to do it like that against Alton.
‘It’s gradually been getting better over the past few weeks so it was good to be able to put it all together.
‘It’s a tricky one against the Academy because they have got a good side and some talented youngsters.
‘It’s always a good batting deck and that should help the confidence even more.’
The Sarisbury opener, who hit a brilliant 139 in his side’s much-needed win over Alton in the Southern Electric premier division last week, takes over the captaincy from Matt Journeaux, who is away.
Sarisbury are hit with another blow with Dan Goldstraw – who took seven for 60 last week – also unavailable, writes Steve Wilson of The News..
Sam Floyd and Mark Miller come in to the side for the league showdown but Journeaux is back in charge for Sunday’s Southern ElectrictT20 Cup quarter-final at the Ageas Bowl Nursery Ground (2pm).
Journeaux, however, believes his side can build on last weekend’s victory to plot their way out of trouble.
He said: ‘The win last week gives us a bit of a chance to get ourselves away from trouble.
‘We’ve got games coming up against teams around us and it gives us that bit of confidence to go on a run.
‘The league is so tight that we know if we can put a few results together, we will be back in the top half.
‘But we can’t switch off because I think we probably need another three wins to be safe, maybe more.
‘Whoever goes down, it will not be a team that gets cut adrift. I think they will win at least four games.
‘We want to get clear of trouble going into the last few games.’
Sarisbury looked like a team in big trouble before last week’s win after five straight defeats.
But Journeaux felt his men were close to turning the corner.
He said: ‘We were unlucky to come out on the wrong end of a close game against Burridge two weeks ago.
‘Where we have been on a bad run of form, we lost it.
‘When things aren’t going that well, it can fall like that.
‘But we came back with a big win so it was good to do it like that against Alton.
‘It’s gradually been getting better over the past few weeks so it was good to be able to put it all together.
‘It’s a tricky one against the Academy because they have got a good side and some talented youngsters.
‘It’s always a good batting deck and that should help the confidence even more.’
