WET weather is set to play havoc with local cricket tomorrow as clubs steel themselves for a season-opening weekend with no action.
The West of England Premier League yesterday contacted its member clubs to allow them to call off their games more than 48 hours in advance, such were the concerns over the wet conditions.
In the Glos/Wilts Division, Swindon are already without a fixture as opponents Stroud have found their brand new Ryeford ground lashed by the recent rain.
And skipper Paul Paginton admitted it was a disappointing start to the year for him and his teammates.
“I’m looking forward to actually playing but it’s very frustrating at the moment. We just don’t know when it’s actually going to start,” he said.
Paginton is the new skipper at Swindon having taken over from Liam Tucker during the winter, and will have a slightly different squad at his disposal than Tucker did last year.
Pace bowler George Rigali will be playing his cricket in Australia so is unavailable for the season, with his effective replacement being fellow pace man Nigel Dunston. Also in is batsman Ian Cuthbertson, who will be hoping to rack up the runs during the summer.
Paginton, 33, has vowed that once the season does get underway, he will push for his team to go all out in matches and not play it safe.
“We’ll look to play an attacking form of cricket and will be going for the wins,” he said.
“We’ll be aiming to score runs quickly and play an attacking field with attacking bowlers.
“We’ve also got a couple of new players in who will make a difference.”
The former Cricklade man is targeting an improved effort on Swindon’s 2011 season, in which they finished fourth in the division.
He added: “We finished fourth last year and I think we’ll be looking for an improvement on that and aiming for the top three.
“Of course promotion is the ultimate aim but this season we will just look for improvement.
“I don’t know how the other teams have changed over the winter so I don’t know what state they are in, but I think Biddestone and Potterne will be up there. There’s a few teams in there that I’ve never played like Chipping Sodbury and Painswick, so that will be interesting.”
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