FULL SEVEN PIRATES AT LAST

17/08/26

The Poole 'Wessex Marine' Pirates return to a full one-to-seven on Wednesday night when they host the Oxford Cheetahs at Wimborne Road.

Injuries, suspensions and Polish commitments have forced the Pirates to ride their last eighteen meetings using a facility, but the recent signing of Slater Lightcap and a clean bill of health given across the team, the Pirates will have seven of their own hoping to see off the threat of the Oxford Cheetahs.

Promoter Dan Ford said,

"It's been a while since we haven't had to look at our options and it will be nice to finish the season with a settled side. Kyle [Newman] has declared himself fit for Wednesday and so we will finally be able to see the full Pirates 1-7 back in action. Naturally, we are grateful to those riders who have filled the gaps for us, including Sam Masters who was superb for us in both our meetings against Berwick. He only dropped three points in ten rides, so there is a warning sign for Wednesday as he will be on the other side of the pits. I am sure our fans will be keen to see Slater [Lightcap] again. He had his first sight of the place last week and five points wasn't a bad debut. He is a rider that seems to grow with confidence the more he rides a track, but there will be no pressure on him."

Oxford come to Wimborne Road for the culmination of their season. Currently sitting in eighth place they are in real danger of picking up the wooden spoon, having scored eleven points from their previous 15 meetings. One of those was the corresponding fixture against Poole which ended in a draw, so Wednesday's winners will bank an aggregate bonus point.

The Cheetahs, who redeclared their team back to their original seven after replacing Erik Riss on a temporary basis with Edward Kennett, will have Mitchell Cluff guesting for the German who is still struggling with his sight issues.

Teams: Poole (TM Neil Middleditch) 1 Richard Lawson 2 William Cairns 3 Lewis Kerr 4 Cooper Rushen 5 Zach Cook (Capt) 6 Slater Lightcap 7 Kyle Newman
Oxford (TM Peter Schroeck) 1 Sam Masters (Capt) 2 Luke Killeen 3 Mitchell Cluff (Guest) 4 Mitch McDiarmid 5 Anders Rowe 6 Dayle Wood 7 Darryl Ritchings