Broad Oak are hoping Ryan Wadsworth will be fit to spearhead their bid for a first Paddock Shield final success in 18 years.

The opening bowler has a back injury suffered while playing for the Firsts last week, but skipper Gavin Brooke is keeping fingers crossed he’ll be able to lead the Oak attack on home soil against Shepley in Sunday’s Fired Up Corporation-backed final (1.00).

Nine successive wins have put Broad Oak in contention for the Drakes Premiership Two title and Brooke – in his first year as skipper – says everyone at the club is in very buoyant mood.

“We couldn’t be in much better form going into the final and we are all looking forward to it,” said Brooke, whose side are also at home tomorrow against Honley Seconds.

“It’s great for the club that we are at home – I haven’t won many tosses this season but at least I got that one right! – and we’ve had a fantastic run.

“When people have been away on holiday, others have stepped in and done a great job, and if we front up and play like we know we can on Sunday, then we’ll give ourselves a great chance of winning.”

Three-times Paddock Shield winner Carl Baxter will open the batting alongside Oak stalwart Stephen Rushworth, and they are boosted by the return of Sven Burluraux from university in Melbourne to bat at No3.

Richard Metcalfe adds quality to the middle order alongside 15-year-old signing from Slaithwaite, John Keeling, who also offers a spin option to add to that of Will Metcalfe, who is now back from honeymoon.

Rushworth is also sure to feature in the attack with his accurate swing bowling, while Wadsworth’s brother Jack is leader of the bowling unit with 35 wickets this season at 12.43.

Brooke, Ben Burnett and keeper Conor Woodruff – who scored over 1,000 runs two years ago – complete the likely line-up, although pace bowler Nick Howard is on standby if Wadsworth fails to pass a late fitness test.

“We’re a good unit with strength in the batting and variation in the bowling and the key for us is making sure we do our jobs well when we get to Sunday afternoon,” added Brooke, of Wizard bats, who are supplying a growing number of Drakes League players.

“We’re very happy to be at home, we know a fair bit about Shepley having played them in the past and we’re just looking forward to getting cracking.”

It’s only five years since the Paddock Shield was last at Shepley, who are now going for promotion from the Frank Platt Championship Two having been relegated last season.

Before that, however, it was way back in 1973 when they previously hoisted the famous old trophy, whereas the Oak were seven times winners in the 14 seasons from 1982 to 1995 (Martin Field a veteran of the lot, several as skipper).

Shepley arrive at this year’s final with the Earnshaw Cup already slotted into the trophy cabinet and skipper Gary Bradley promising promotion back to the Premiership II is a massive priority, but he would love to make it a treble.

“The league was our target at the start of the season but we’ve been going well and the cup runs have been a big bonus for us,” said Bradley, who played for Shepley in last year’s Sykes Cup final.

“We have just gone top of the table, which is great, and if we keep on playing like we are at the moment then there’s no reason why we can’t win on Sunday.

“We are probably slight underdogs, but we’ve beaten a couple of Premiership teams on the way to the final and, if we are on form, we can beat anyone on our day.”

Bradley himself is key to the Shepley batting with 783 runs at 46.06, but they’ve got the vastly experienced Stuart Greaves opening the batting, Oli Cox, keeper Adam Carter and Rob Denton all very solid contributors and Chris Cox – twin of Oli – ready to inject some fierce hitting in the middle order.

On the bowling front, Ali Reza has led the way this summer with 46 wickets at 10.57, while fellow spinner Denton has 38 wickets at 10.16 behind the opening assault of Chris James (28 wickets) and Chris Cox.

“We’ve got a very good attack and it’s the bowlers who have generally been winning us matches this year,” said Bradley. “The batting is good, too – I’m just hoping I can keep my own form going to the end of the season – and the only problem has been picking a side, because we’ve had 13 regulars this season and it’s very unfortunate that a couple of lads are having to miss out. I’ve gone for a mix I think will work.”

In addition to the Cox twins, Shepley also have a father and son in Chris (dad) and Tom James.

Broad Oak – Gavin Brooke (Capt), Conor Woodruff, Carl Baxter, Stephen Rushworth, Richard Metcalfe, Will Metcalfe, John Keeling, Jack Wadsworth, Ryan Wadsworth, Ben Burnett, Sven Burluraux. 12th man: Nick Howard. Scorer: Jevan Peacock.

Shepley – Gary Bradley (Capt), Stuart Greaves, Oli Cox, Adam Carter, Rob Denton, Jamie Dearnley, Chris Cox, Ali Reza, Tom James, Chris James, Danny Netherwood. 12th man: Harry Dickinson. Scorer: James Netherwood.

Umpires – Ray Bissett and Keith Hallam.