Unbeaten runs on the line as leaders Roffey take on Horsham

The Boars currently sit top of the Sussex Cricket Premier Division and have yet to be beaten this season, whilst the Lions sit in fifth but are unbeaten in five.

This will be the first meeting of the two sides since Roffey’s 41-run win against Horsham in the Gray-Nicolls T20 Cup semi-final last season and both captains are looking forward to this keenly contested derby.

Speaking after his side’s draw with Eastbourne, Boars skipper Matt Davies is expecting a difficult game and feels Horsham will be out for revenge after several defeats to Roffey. He said: “They are a good side in good form so we are expecting a tough game.

“Despite their league position in previous years, they are a side who can beat anyone on their day.

“They will be out to beat us after the results in this fixture in the last couple of years, and that’s something we will relish.”

Davies delighted as Roffey progress in ECB National Club ChampionshipAfter the Lions’ away win against Middleton, Horsham captain Michael Thornely feels that his side have the momentum going into this game in what will be a pivotal weekend for the club.Not only will the Lions be playing their local rivals, they will also be travelling to East Grinstead in the quarter-finals of the Gray-Nicolls T20 Cup on Sunday.

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Thornely believes Horsham’s unbeaten run in the timed format has given his side confidence and has backed his players to step up to the occasion.

He said: “It’s obviously a local derby and it’s always been a highly competitive game.

“They’re top but we’ve got really good momentum at the moment after our win at the weekend.

“We’ve done pretty well since we’ve switched to the timed games and it’s probably a good time for us to play them as confidence is pretty high with us at the moment.

“They’ve definitely been the stronger team over the last few years and are favourites going into the game.

“I’ll be asking the boys to step up their game and make sure we can turn that around after the last few results and put in a performance to really test their team.

“They’re a very good team and have had a lot of success recently so it’s up to us to put in a performance to challenge them.

“We’ve got Roffey on Saturday and then East Grinstead on Sunday in the cup so it’s a weekend that we really want to work hard for and see if we can get two wins out of it.

“I don’t think I have to remind the guys it’s a big weekend so if we get two wins this weekend it will be a big boost for our season.”

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