SOUTH Wilts new captain James Hayward doesn’t spend his life studying the weather forecast – but there’s a sure bet he’ll be looking at it this weekend !

“We need a dry Saturday and play some cricket,” he sighed.

“Our pre-season has been ravaged by the weather – we’ve not got on the park yet.”

South Wilts had four pre-season matches planned before the May 7 ECB Southern Premier Division opener against Ventnor on the Isle of Wight, writes Mike Vimpany.

But the games with Falkland and Henley have already fallen foul of the elements, leaving Hayward frustrated.

“We’ve got Corsham (Saturday) and Calmore Sports (Sunday) coming to Bemerton this weekend – and we’re desperate to play.

“Most of us haven’t put our pads on since the Alton game last August,” he continued.

Ironically, 12 months ago, South Wilts were basking in hot weather and playing all their pre-season games on rock-hard surfaces.

“It put us in great shape for the season ahead and those preparations cemented things for the wonderful Premier League and t20 double winning summer we went on to enjoy,” he added.

One newcomer to the South Wilts fold –South Australia Under-19 captain Jake Winter – certainly got a rude awakening when he pitched up at Bemerton earlier this week.

“The temperatures were in the mid-20s when I left Adelaide. I was literally frozen when I arrived in Salisbury,” he smiled.

“Talk about a culture shock !”

Winter replaces newly-wedded Western Australia left-arm all-rounder Ryan Duffield as South Wilts’ overseas player.

It is expected he will open the batting for South Wilts – hopefully a ready-made replacement for run-gun Tom Morton, who has left the club to become Director of Cricket at Ealing.

Morton made his debut for the Middlesex Premier League club last weekend and smacked a quick-fire 63 in a ten-wicket twenty20 win over Wimbledon.

“That should get him in the team,” his successor, Hayward laughed.