AFTER a two-year absence Goatacre return to the West of England Premier League Glos/Wilts Division in 2011, and skipper Craig Gibbens has called on the old guard that earned promotion last season to establish the club at their new level.

For a tiny village, Goatacre have been paired with sizeable opposition this time around, with trips to Swindon, Stroud and Trowbridge looming as well as games against a former juggernaut of cricket in the region.

And those mouth-watering fixtures against Cheltenham have already got Gibbens excited, not that he’s been able to take much time away from the game over the close-season.

“We had our first outdoor training session recently and we were saying how it has been so long since the end of last season but it has absolutely flown by,” he said.

“I’m sure that comes from the amount of cricket there has been to watch, and the quality of that cricket as well.

“Now we are all really looking forward to getting started and having a go again at this level.

“We were here two years ago and it’s taken a couple of years to get back but hopefully we can put in some decent performances.

“There are some big teams in this league, and it is very strange that a team like Cheltenham are in at this level.

“I don’t know whether they are in decline, but they shouldn’t be playing at this standard.

“It will be interesting when we play them to see whose there and the quality they have.

“It is amazing for a small village club like Goatacre to be playing a club the size of Cheltenham.”

By Gibbens’ own admission, Goatacre have not strengthened as thoroughly as they might have liked over the winter.

The departure of stalwart opening batsman Luke Edwards, off to pastures new at Corsham in pursuit of a higher level of cricket, has left a rather sizeable void at the top of the order.

Gibbens and the club have actively tried to secure a replacement. But after failing to tempt Rob Murphy from Winsley and having witnessed Liam Dawson’s unexpected rise to prominence with Hampshire in the early weeks of the campaign, hopes now rest on tempting 23-year-old Ed Kilbee into the side.

A stylish left-hander, Kilbee’s cameos in 2010 were as dazzling as they were brief, and his availability would add an extra dimension to Goatacre in the first 15 overs.

Opener Nick Pocock has been signed from Chippenham as cover, while in the bowling department Matt Holmes has returned to the club after a short sojourn with Winsley.

So then, with movement sparse on the playing front, how does Gibbens sum up his new additions?

“If I’m being honest we have found it hard to bring in more players, even though the club did so well last year,” he said.

“I think it’s still the case that loyalty comes into play a lot in cricket. There’s not a lot of association between cricket and players moving around the place.

“Maybe we haven’t got as many reinforcements in as we might have liked, but we’ve got a good playing squad still.”

Indeed, Goatacre’s nucleus of wily campaigners and maverick youngsters proved far too much for the Wiltshire Division last term.

And although Glos/Wilts is a different platform entirely, with players of the quality of Jack Haines, Brad Dawson and Jif Wilkins Goatacre have the groundwork in place to lay a foundation on rock rather than sand.

But Gibbens is aware of the challenges ahead, and knows he and his teammates must switch quickly into top gear during a baptism of fire of three consecutive away matches.

“It is a pretty tough start but our first game is against Marshfield, who only just avoided relegation last year, and it is a game we have set aside as one we think we should win,” he said.

“We are aware of the nature of the task, but we will go out to enjoy it and perform as best we can.

“It would have been nice to have a few more in, but if we get Ed (Kilbee) for a year, and keep Brad and Jack okay and on-form, we can hold our own.”

And who wouldn’t back Goatacre from doing just that?