JOHN Barrett is expecting Oxford to be in for a tough time when they welcome local rivals Banbury to Jordan Hill in Division 1 tomorrow.

The Oxfordshire sides meet for the first time since 2015 in the top tier of the Home Counties Premier League, but find themselves in very different positions.

Following their three-wicket win over Burnham, Oxford – relegated without a victory two years ago – sit third, while Banbury – runners-up in 2015 – are mid-table and have experienced fluctuating results.

Captain Barrett, who is unavailable this weekend, said: “I’m expecting a tough game.

“They’ve got a young side, kind of like us they are trying to rebuild, but we won’t underestimate them.”

Left-arm seamer Samad Fallah shone for Oxford last week, taking his first five-wicket haul of the season.

The Indian bowler, who broke the club’s record for most wickets in a season in 2016 with 58, has not been quite as prolific in the opening two months of this campaign.

But Barrett has been pleased with Fallah’s performances.

He said: “I don’t think Sam has struggled, he’s bowled well and pitches have not suited him quite as much and we’ve used spinners as a result.”

Chris Humphreys (finger) is injured and Andrew Clough is away, so Ian Crosby, Freddie Simon and Abdullah Sadiqi come in.

Banbury captain Lloyd Sabin admitted last week’s win over High Wycombe was a welcome morale-boost.

The north Oxfordshire side had not won in five games, slipping towards the bottom of the table as a result.

Sabin said: “I felt the last few weeks we’ve been performing well without getting results, so to get over the line was nice. It has been a bit disheartening.”

Sabin has been leading from the front and hit an unbeaten 76 last week.

The Banbury skipper added: “When you’re captain you like to lead by example.

“At the moment, I’m not doing too bad, but I’m not fussed how I get on as long as we win the game.”

Jack Wilkins and Ed Phillips are unavailable, while Jimmy Phillips drops to the 2nd XI, so Richard West, Tom Bartlett and Will Briggs return.

Rameez Raja is back as Horspath host struggling Great & Little Tew in another Oxfordshire derby.

The overseas star travelled home to Pakistan at the beginning of the month due to his mother’s poor health.

But the 29-year-old, who scored 595 runs last season, is named in tomorrow’s XI.

Captain Will Eason said: “He arrived back on Wednesday night.

“Fingers crossed for his and his family’s sake he is with us for the rest of the season.”

Robbie Eason is also back, but Tom Cosford, who hit a maiden league century in last week’s draw at Henley, is unavailable, while Jehan Mohammad drops to the 2nd XI.

Will Eason added: “Tew have some really good players.

“The thing is two bad results or two good ones can push you one way or another, so we’ve got to be on top of our game.”

TOMORROW’S TEAMS

Oxford (v Banbury, home): Tong-Jones, Eltham, Ayub, Perkin, Mendis, Beer, Musk, Fallah, Crosby, Simon, Sadiqi.

Banbury (v Oxford, away): Haupt, Sabin, Hill, Hawtin, Megson, Wright, Taylor, Cheema, West, Bartlett, Briggs.

Horspath (v Gt & Little Tew, home): Coleman, Fitzjohn, Jefferson, Shahzad, Thomas, Faruk, Belcher, W Eason, Green, Raja, R Eason.

MICHAEL Beard insists Thame Town are not getting carried away by their fine start to the season ahead of their derby clash with Division 2 leaders Aston Rowant.

The Church Meadow-based side sit third following last week’s win over Reading, having struggled 12 months ago.

Captain Beard returns to the side for the unavailable Mike Higgs and says his side must show consistency if they are to remain in the upper echelons of the table.

He said: “I think the Rowant game is always big and it’s nice it’s a top-of-the-table clash – a bit of added spice.

“It’s a bonus being up there, it’s not something we were expecting, we can play with a bit of freedom.

“We are only coming up to halfway and we’ve got to just keep putting performances in and if we’re still up there with three or four games to go it’s then something to think about.”

Captain Charlie Brain is hoping Charlie Miller and Anupam Sanklecha can perform heroics again when Shipton-under-Wychwood host Great Brickhill.

The west Oxon side are aiming for back-to-back wins for the first time this season.

Miller, 16, hit his first century in the Home Counties Premier League, with an unbeaten 108 in last week’s victory over Amersham, before all-rounder Sanklecha took a second successive eight-wicket haul.

Brain said: “Charlie was fantastic last week, good for him, hopefully he starts cashing in a bit now.

“But he’s still young, so there’s no pressure on him.”

The skipper added: “Pam just seems to run through the middle order.

"He bowled an absolute stormer to their captain Andy Viney.

"Pam’s in his element, he can bowl a lot more overs, people don’t score many runs off him.”

Shipton make two changes with Simon Hole and Harry Davies replacing Matt Brown and Tom Swann.

TOMORROW’S TEAMS

Thame Tn (v Aston Rowant, away): C Russell, Sutcliffe, Kanishka, Straughan, Adams, Mushtaq, Phippen, A Russell, Rooney, Jeffcock, Beard.

Shipton-under-Wychwood (v Great Brickhill, home): Hemming, Wood, C Miller, Sanklecha, I Harris, Cross, S Harris, S Miller, Brain, Hole, Davies.