TWO new captains will lead their sides into the Lancashire League curtain-raiser tomorrow as champions Ramsbottom travel to Worsley Cup holders Burnley for the Ron Singleton Colne Trophy (1pm).

Tom Parton is the man aiming to guide Rammy to back-to-back titles, while the Turf Moor side’s challenge will be spearheaded by Dan Pickup.

And both clubs have undergone plenty of changes during the winter.

Daryn Smit’s departure to Derbyshire strips Ramsbottom of their professional and inspirational skipper, while their rivals have lost run-machine Vishal Tripathi, to Bootle, and all-rounder Jonny Clare.

But Burnley professional Chris Holt is looking forward to getting the campaign underway.

“It will be a good test,” he told the Lancashire Telegraph. “We had both our friendlies rained off last weekend so it will be good to get started.

“Obviously we have lost Vishal and Jonny, which is a big blow as they are both first-class players, and Dave Brown is not available for this weekend.

“But we have got three new players in the ranks in Joey Marshall from Enfield, Matt Roberts from Oswaldtwistle Immanuel and Liam Bedford from Enfield.

“They are all good players and have come to Burnley with something to prove, so it will be exciting to see how they go.

“In the past this game has been treated as a friendly, but this is the Community Shield of the Lancashire League and there is a trophy to play for. So if you lose it’s a friendly, but if you win it’s a piece of silverware in the cabinet!”

Pickup has spent the last six months in Australia and Holt, who has remained in this country over the winter, says time in the sun can make a big difference to the way players start seasons..

“From my point of view, it’s a case of getting back into it,” he said.

“My aim going into games is always to make more runs and get more wickets than the opposing pro.

“But a lot of them are coming in from an overseas summer, so it is up to me to make a decent start.”

He added: “We traditionally start the season slowly, so we are aiming to get up speed as quickly as possible this season.

“It’s a transitional year for the club, but we are hoping to be in the top there or four and maybe even higher than that.”

Parton is a young captain at 22, but has been with Rammy since the age of nine and would love to start his tenure lifting some silverware.

New professional Grant Thomson hasn’t arrived at Acre Bottom yet, so ex-Church paid man Usman Tariq will stand in.

Parton said: “It’s a tough test up at Burnley, but we’re looking forward to it.

“It’s a familiar challenge but we know what they can do on the pitch and we are under no illusions about the task we face.

“There is a trophy to play for and both teams will want to get it in the bag before the league campaign starts in a week’s time.

“We took a very young side to St Anne’s for a friendly last weekend, and it was just good to be outside playing cricket in the sunshine.

“We’re just hoping for some better weather this season.”