Preview Poole v Oxford - Lawson a Natural Number One

Gary Havelock temporarily hands back the managerial baton to regular Neil Middleditch on Wednesday night, when third meets first at the Wimborne Road stadium with the Wessex Marine Pirates welcoming the Oxford Cheetahs, and he does so acknowledging the importance to the Poole team of number one Richard Lawson.
 

Lawson was top scorer for the Pirates on Saturday night as they gave Havelock his ninth win of his Poole managerial career and  former world champion, Havvy, had high praise for the Cumbrian, claiming "I have seen a big difference in this Poole side, you know, since Richard went to number one. Some riders are natural number ones and Richard certainly is one of those. It is not everyone's favourite racing position, personally I loved being number one but I think back and Mark Loram hated  it. Richard has settled in there so easily and it has brought a different dimension to the team, and I can see that Steve (Worrall) is happier where he is. Of course it is the averages that dictate who goes there and so Richard knows he needs to continue to hold the highest average so that he can stay there."

Whilst Havelock will be looking on from afar on Wednesday (he is due to resume the reins  for Poole's trip to Scunthorpe on Friday), Middleditch will be in charge as the Pirates face a tough prospect of maximising their points against leaders Oxford. The Cheetahs have only lost once in the league this season and secured a fourteen point advantage over the Pirates in the corresponding meeting of this league fixture, although in  their  two previous visits this season (in the BSN Southern Group and Knockout Cup) they have suffered respective defeats by twenty four and fourteen which points towards the fact that there will be a lot on the line as the battle for the three available league points is contested. The Cheetahs are buoyed by being back to full strength, both  Lewis Kerr and Luke Killeen resuming their places in the Cheetahs one to seven after injuries, but the Pirates will continue to operate without the services of Adam Roynon who has suffered three breaks in his shoulder blade and is undergoing further scans. 2022 reserve Nathan Ablitt fills the void on Wednesday. 

Oxford are assured of remaining top whatever the result on Wednesday, but should the Pirates secure all three points then the deficit would close to four points with the Pirates still having ridden one meeting fewer.

Teams
Poole 1 Richard Lawson 2 Kyle Newman 3 Ben Cook 4 Zach Cook 5 Steve Worrall (Capt) 6 Anders Rowe 7 Nathan Ablitt (Guest) Team manager Neil Middleditch
Oxford 1 Sam Masters 2 Henry Atkins 3 Lewis Kerr 4 Jordan Jenkins 5 Scott Nicholls (Capt) 6 Cameron Heeps 7 Luke Killeen Team manager Peter Shroeck