It's a case of 'take two' for Chirk and Connah's Quay in the North Wales Cricket League

Chirk’s trip to Hawarden Park and Quay’s visit to Denbigh both fell foul to the recent wet weather, meaning the duo will be heading into tomorrow’s clash at Holyhead Road in the same position.

Andrew Swarbrick, who will be available to captain hosts Chirk, said: “The lads were gutted about last weekend, but there is nothing you can do about the weather.

“Everyone wants to play the first game of the season and the lads were devastated, but it shows they want to play and we will be ready for action against Connah’s Quay.”

Quay skipper Martin Burger was equally frustrated by last week’s cancellation, especially with the sun shining and the club’s second team getting their game on.

“We are itching to get started,” said Burger. “But we’ve got to be mindful of the players. The last thing anyone wants is a player to slip and injure himself.

“We are itching to go, especially after having a net session last Saturday and then again on Monday night.

“We watched the second XI play their first game of the season and it was great to have people together at the club, but we are ready to play some cricket.”

On the challenge of Quay, Swarbrick said: “It is always good to test yourselves against teams like Connah’s Quay.

“In (Martin) Burger and (David) Fox they have two of the best batsmen in the league and we can’t wait to face them.

“We are confident heading into the game because we feel like we’ve got the ability to beat anyone in the league.”

Nick Flack misses out for Chirk, who welcome back Gareth Partridge, Adam Shillcock and Mark Shaw, while Quay welcome back seamer Darren Leach.

Hawarden Park are wary of the threat posed by visiting Pwllheli as they look to get their season started.

The Flintshire side saw their opening day clash cancelled due to an unfit playing surface, while Pwllheli began with a comprehensive seven-wicket loss to hosts Brymbo.

Park captain Ian Martin said: “We saw their score last week and we’ve got to be wary because they will be looking to bounce back from that defeat against us.

“We have a strong team available though, and we know that if we perform to the levels we are capable of we will be a match for anyone.

“Pwllheli are used to winning games after being promoted, but we will approach the weekend’s game full of confidence.”

On the cancelled opening day fixture with Chirk, Martin added: “We tried our hardest to get the game played, but the weather meant the ground wasn’t ready, which was disappointing.”

David Hughes misses out for Hawarden, who could call on the services of Liam Naylor and Ian Dixon.

Dale Harley insists that Northop will head into tomorrow’s home game with Bangor full of confidence.

The Flintshire side kicked off their return to the top-flight with a 184-run defeat at Menai Bridge, some off-colour fielding and a batting collapse accounting for the size of the loss.

But plenty of teams will find Menai Bridge too hot to handle on home soil with team manager Harley saying: “The confidence is still there. We just dropped too many chances in the field and then we went 40-odd for one to 108 all out, even though we bat all the way down.

“Bangor will be another tough one, but we had a chat after Saturday, we had another chat on Wednesday and we will be ready.”

Experienced vice captain Gareth Williams returns for Northop.

While Northop look to bounce back from a heavy defeat, Brymbo head to Llandudno having recorded two wins from their opening two games.

James Claybrook’s side cruised to a seven-wicket Premier Division win over Pwllheli last Saturday, before they defeated Llay Welfare the following afternoon in the Welsh Cup.

“It was a really good start to the season, our bowling was brilliant all weekend and really sets the tone for the rest of the season,” said Claybrook. “We would have liked to have been able to spend a bit more time at the crease and get a few lads a hit, but you can’t turn your nose at bowling sides out for less than 100 two days in a row.”

The likes of Mohamed Nilam Jayman, Gareth Pugh, Dan Parry and Gareth Boyes all played their part for Brymbo, who are looking to end an unwanted losing streak at Llandudno tomorrow.

Brymbo have lost their last five completed trips to The Oval, a far cry from four straight home wins over the same opposition.

Claybrook said: “I don’t think I’ve ever won in Llandudno, so that is something I would like to change.

“We’ve given them a few hammerings at our place over the last few years so I will be looking to replicate that form away from home.”

Ben Roberts returns for Brymbo, who are without Connor Davies.

Gresford will be looking to bounce back from their 182-run loss at Bangor as Menai Bridge visit.