POSITIVITY is the key as Goatacre look to get their own back for last season’s twin defeats to Marlborough when the two sides meet in Wilts One tomorrow, according to skipper Craig Gibbens.

Gibbens was part of the Goatacre team which was dismantled twice by Marlborough last season - first capitulating whilst chasing in a rain-affected early-season encounter before being skittled cheaply batting first in the return.

And now the captain wants his batsmen, who showed tremendous promise in posting a total in excess of 300 against Great Bedwyn last weekend, to set their stall out aggressively and not allow themselves to be put under the cosh in the opening exchanges.

“The message that I have been trying to get to our top order this year is that they must have the freedom to express themselves,” he said.

“I don’t want them to worry about getting out, I want them to play positive cricket.

“If that means hitting the ball over the top early doors then let’s do it. All I ask is that if we get into a situation where we have to apply ourselves, then we have to make sure we do.

“It is all about positively reading the game and last year we didn’t do that.”

The plan to go after the Marlborough bowling unit is brave one.

Spinner Ben Head was amongst the leading lights of last year’s West of England Wiltshire Division, claiming more 64 scalps at a slither more than seven runs per wicket.

And having reiterated his devastating potential against Calne last time out with a match-winning knock of 62, followed by figures of 5-34 in 13 overs, the threat posed by the Marlborough skipper is impossible to ignore.

“Ben is a quality spinner, he was streets ahead of anyone else on the averages last season,” said Gibbens.

“We will need to find a way of playing him a little bit differently.

“It’s all about working out your plans, because in this league players can have the sign over certain individuals when they go out to bat.

“It is easy to make yourself think that you are going to get out to a particular bowler, and we’ve been trying to convince each other that that simply isn’t the case.”

Jif Wilkins returns to the fray for Goatacre after missing last week’s win over Calne whilst on holiday, and the all-rounder comes into the side in place of off-spinner Jason Searle, who is in Denmark.

And whilst Gibbens stops short of branding tomorrow’s encounter a revenge mission, he is certainly keen at bucking a trend and getting one over their close rivals.

“We would like to reverse last year’s losses and hopefully this is the perfect opportunity to put a run of wins together,” he said.

“Last year we were too inconsistent, and that’s how we ended up with our won nine, lost seven record. This season we want to point our season in the right direction early and be a little less unpredictable.”