The Kent SLYDE Kings travel to Suffolk on Sunday to take on Mildenhall in their first City Gearboxes National League match of the 2015 season. 
Their opponents, the Fen Tigers, are celebrating the 40th anniversary of forming as a league side back in 1975 and open their home league campaign themselves with the visit of the side from Sittingbourne.
Both teams have yet to taste success on track so far in the early salvoes of this new campaign, with Mildenhall having exited already from the Knockout Cup with home and away reverses to their local rivals, King’s Lynn, following an Easter weekend defeat in the National Trophy at the hands of the Rye House Raiders.
That same competition over the holiday weekend saw the SLYDE-sponsored Kings lose out in their own ‘derby’ action to divisional newcomers, Eastbourne Eagles. So, much is at stake for both sides as the most important competition up for grabs this term finally gets centre attention with third-placed last term Kent taking on fourth-placed side in 2014, Mildenhall in CGNL action.
As Kent team boss Chris Hunt explains it’s been a long-ish wait and an injury blow has reduced his options already: “The Easter weekend seems a long time ago now to be honest, but at least our lads had the rides afforded them in the largely in-house Invicta Pairs meeting last Monday to get some more racing sharpness; and for others like Ben Morley and James Shanes there’s been important individual meetings they’ve competed in too.
“Unfortunately in one of these early season ‘open’ meetings Danny Ayres has got injured: breaking a small bone in his hand crashing out in the Championship of Sussex meeting at Eastbourne last Sunday. It’s a big blow to miss Danny for our trip to Mildenhall but we hope this will be the only league match he does miss due to this injury.”
The SLYDE Kings will use the Rider Replacement facility for the missing Newmarket-based Ayres and this will mean additional pressure on Danno Verge (who impressed in the Pairs meeting at Central Park on Monday) and the reserve pairing of Jamie Couzins (who has by far the least experience in the Kent line up, especially of the tricky circuit at West Row) and Adam Sheppard, who partnered skipper Ben Morley to victory in the Invicta meeting.
In-form James Shanes, fifth in Tuesday’s GB Under 21 championship, will get one additional ride to cover for Ayres under the Rider Replacement facility and that’s a boost for the visitors.
Also playing a likely crucial part in the match on Sunday will be Aaron Baseby, making a return to the circuit where he helped the Fen Tigers to the Knock-out Cup in 2011. But again the main man for the Sittingbourne Dog Track-based Kent side is surely destined to be ever-reliable skipper Ben Morley who has a well-merited reputation as a track specialist around the Mildenhall circuit – where he is sure to be the most feared by the home septet.
That septet has seen changes already this year, with Liam Rumsey leaving this week and being replaced by Sussex-based rider Nick Laurence. The side had previously been hit by an unhappy Jack Kingston announcing he too wanted a break from the sport but to the no doubt massive relief of the Fen Tigers’ management team of former GB internationals Kevin Jolly and Robert Henry, the 2013 Kent Kings man Kingston is back in the saddle for Sunday – fit and raring to meet his old side. Also facing up to his former side is another 2013 Kent man, Connor Coles – well on the road to recovery after serious injury at the end of last season.
The hosts’ team manager team manager, Henry is upbeat about the prospects for his side in this vital opening CGNL match for both clubs, he said: “There is no doubt we have had a slow start, and not produced the results I would have hoped. But I feel now that with Jack Kingston returning and Nick Laurence on board we are ready to start winning some meetings. There have been positives with newcomers Luke Ruddick and Tom Bacon at reserve and Connor Mountain just goes from strength to strength. I felt too Danny Halsey is starting to show the form that makes him one of the top three riders in our league; he led the side well on Wednesday (at King’s Lynn) and his form and leadership is key to us. Connor Coles is coming back off a serious injury and will have the odd off day, we know that, but we have been helping him all we can and hopefully his bikes will be that bit quicker this weekend, he has been a little frustrated but I have complete confidence in him.”
The action gets underway at 3.30pm at Mildenhall Stadium, Hayland Drove, Wet Row, Mildenhall, Suffolk IP28 8QU.
Teams (in alphabetical order):
Mildenhall KJM Fen Tigers – Tom Bacon; Connor Coles; Danny Halsey (captain); Jack Kingston; Nick Laurence; Connor Mountain; Luke Ruddick
Kent SLYDE Kings – Aaron Baseby; Jamie Couzins; Ben Morley (captain); James Shanes; Adam Sheppard; Danno Verge (R/R for Danny Ayres)
Images courtesy of PSP Images