New captain Adam Krol is looking to his Horspath side to rise to the occasion as he starts his reign with a trip to Serious Cricket Home Counties Premier League Division 2 West leaders Burnham tomorrow.

It may appear something of a baptism of fire, but the 27-year-old all-rounder, who has taken over at the helm after Robbie Eason stepped down this week, is relishing the challenge.

Krol names an unchanged side as he looks for his players to bounce back from last week’s defeat by Aston Rowant.

And he said: “There is no better place to go to than the leaders and put in a good performance, and hopefully we will get a positive result.”

One player missing from the squad is batsman Ned Murray.

Krol added: “Ned has got himself a new job in Brighton, which starts in two or three weeks’ time, and with house hunting and everything else, he wants to concentrate on getting things sorted.”

Teenage batsman Will Sutcliffe has been selected for his league debut as Thame Town visit Farnham Royal.

The 16-year-old has been unavailable so far this season due to his commitments at Aylesbury Grammar School.

Skipper Sam Lachlan is back from holiday to lead the side, with Hiren Desai and Rob Reeve dropping out.

Batsman Chris Eaton comes into Aston Rowant’s line-up in place of Andy Tolson for the home clash against bottom club Gerrards Cross.

Former Oxfordshire opener Chris Sandbach could make his seasonal debut as Oxford take on lowly Falkland in Division 1 at Roman Way.

Sandbach missed the first half of the season after having a knee operation, but made 82 on his return for the 2nd XI in their draw against Oxford & Bletchingdon Nondescripts last week.

Dan King is also named in a squad of 13 after missing last week’s 145-run hammering at High Wycombe, but Stewart Laudat is unavailable.

Captain Jason Harrison is urging his side to bounce back against Falkland.

He said: “We have got to put them under pressure and see how they react.

“That is the difference between the top teams and those at a lower level.

“We will be going out all guns blazing to do that.”

Skipper Ian Hawtin is looking for his Banbury side to get back to winning ways as they entertain bottom club Radlett.

Hawtin, who names an unchanged team from the one which got the worse of an abandoned draw at Welwyn Garden City last week, believes Radlett’s position in the table may not be a true reflection of their ability.

“They have some good players, so it is a little bit of a surprise,” he said.

“They are a decent side. I don’t think there are any poor sides in the league.”

TOMORROW'S TEAMS

Banbury (v Radlett, home): L Sabin, Cheshire, Haupt, Shahbaz Ali, Tew, West, Shaw, Blanchard, Hawtin (capt), Smith, J Phillips.

Oxford (v Falkland, home): from Harrison (capt), Barrett, King, Sandbach, Ferraby, Perkin, Crosby, Hole, Mendis, I Evans, Sutherland, Arif, Geeson-Brown.

Aston Rowant (v Gerrards Cross, home): Morrick (capt), Watling, Morgan, Eaton, Lyon, Smith, Cook, Cooper, Leaney, Penhale, Needham.

Horspath (v Burnham, away): O’Connor, R Eason, Phillips, Hutchison, Mohammed, Krol (capt), Wynd, W Eason, Skelton, Rana, Jeacock.

Thame Tn (v Farnham Royal, away): Neilson, Mi Higgs, Beardall, P Patel, Bhatti, Parmar, Lachlan (capt), Sutcliffe, S Patel, Barnett, Rooney.