HARRY Smith says Great & Little Tew can play without fear when they take on Oxfordshire rivals Banbury in the Home Counties Premier League tomorrow.

The west Oxfordshire side, in their second year in Division 1, have just one side below them in the table.

But captain Smith is feeling confident despite taking on a Banbury team who have looked strong in the opening three weeks of the season.

He said: “We’ve got nothing to lose against them.

“We’ve been in their shadow for years, so it would be nice to get one over them.

“We played well against them at home last year (in a draw) and we’re definitely confident playing them on our own patch.”

All-rounder Lloyd Brock is added to the Tew squad in place of Liam Manley.

Banbury’s Lloyd Sabin is calling for more of the same from his side to avoid a slip-up.

An exciting tie against Henley last week sees the north Oxfordshire still unbeaten, something their skipper is keen to maintain.

“We haven’t lost this season,” Sabin, who names an unchanged side, said.

“We want to keep that going, but will have to be at the top of our game because Tew can cause teams problems.”

Captain Will Eason has praised batsman Mark Jefferson ahead of Horspath’s clash with leaders High Wycombe.

The former Colwall player hit 40 from 34 balls on his debut last week and shared a stand of 77 with Rameez Raja during their victory over champions Finchampstead.

Eason is hoping for more of the same this weekend.

He said: “Mark went out there and counter-attacked and, once we got past the 100 mark, he and Rameez rotated the strike well and he was batting so positively.

“It was a great debut and the fact we got 20 points was a great team effort.”

James Fitzjohn and Harrison Ward replace Tom Cosford and Jamie Stead for tomorrow’s clash, which Eason is expecting to be a tough test for his newly-promoted side.

He said: “We’re definitely realistic and we’re not intending to compete with the likes of Wycombe in terms of league position.

“The pressure is probably on them because we’re the team that has just come up, we can go out and enjoy it and hopefully we can challenge throughout.”

Seamer Samad Fallah is included in Oxford’s team for their trip to Tring Park.

The Indian left-arm bowler has arrived in the country after initial problems with his visa and has been named in a squad of 12 by captain John Barrett.

Oxford were frustrated last weekend as their match at Slough was abandoned without a ball bowled, but the skipper is in an upbeat mood ahead of tomorrow.

He said: “Results have not been great for Tring, but we concentrate on ourselves.

“If we perform like we did in the first two games, we should be alright.”

All-rounder Boyan Thorpe and Richard Musk are also in the squad in place of the unavailable Ian Crosby and Kasim Nawaz, who drops to the second XI.

TOMORROW’S TEAMS

Great & Little Tew (v Banbury, home): Smith, Garrett, Woodward, Slatter, Catling, Shurmer, Adams, Harris, Thomas, Bryan, Lloyd Brock.

Banbury (v Great & Little Tew, away): Haupt, Bartlett, Sabin, Hill, West, Megson, Hawtin, Wilkins, Cheema, Taylor, Wright.

Horspath (v High Wycombe, home): R Eason, Coleman, Raja, Jefferson, Green, Faruk, Belcher, W Eason, Slatcher, Fitzjohn, Ward.

Oxford (v Tring Park, away): from Perkin, Barrett, Beer, Tong-Jones, Clough, Mendis, Eltham, Ayub, Humphreys, Fallah, Musk, Thorpe.

MICHAEL Beard is targeting an immediate reaction when Thame Town host winless Great Brickhill in Division 2.

His side suffered a 103-run defeat in a rain-affected match at leaders Amersham last week.

But with openers Mike Higgs and Callum Russell, who will also keep wicket, returning in place of Chris Jeffcock and James Adams, the skipper is in a confident mood.

He said: “It’s a big game and we’re looking quite strong, we should be at full strength.

“They have struggled a little so far, so we will be looking to win.

“Hopefully everyone bounces back.”

Shipton-under-Wychwood hand a Premier League debut to Luke Champion for their match away to Reading.

Champion comes in for the unavailable Craig Wood as Charlie Brain’s side look for a first win of the season.

“We have scored runs this season, but maybe our bowling has not been as good as we know it can be,” said the skipper.

“That’s a surprise as you’d maybe think that was slightly stronger than our batting, but we know we have the ability.

“I think it’s a league where anyone can beat anyone on their day, and hopefully we can produce on Saturday.”

Aston Rowant travel to Buckingham Town, with both teams unbeaten.

TOMORROW’S TEAMS

Thame Town (v Great Brickhill, home): Garg, Sutcliffe, Kanishka, Beard, Straughan, Mushtaq, Phippen, Russell, Rooney, Higgs, Russell.

Shipton-under-Wychwood (v Reading, away): Hemming, Champion, C Miller, Brain, Sanklecha, Cross, Lewis, S Harris, S Miller, Hole, Davies.