READ captain Warren Eastham says he had 'words' with Peter Sleep after his big friend claimed that Cherry Tree would take the Jennings Ribblesdale League title.

In Friday's Lancashire Evening Telegraph Aussie Sleep, a former Read pro who now plays for Rishton in the Transco Lancashire League, said he would love his ex-club to win the title but didn't think they had the killer instinct needed to take the top prize.

But after two victories at the weekend against Settle and Barnoldswick, Read have been catapulted in to pole position and Eastham knows that gaining a result against Cherry Tree on Saturday 'would put us favourites'.

"We'd love to prove Peter wrong," Eastham laughed. "I think it is just his way of giving us a little spur as he has been our biggest fan throughout the season. Still, I know some of the lads had things to discuss with him as well!"

Eastham acknowledged that his side has the toughest run-in out of all the title challengers but with three games to go anything can happen.

"I would rather be where we are than playing catch-up," he said. "This is our big chance and we may not get a better shot for a while so we need to make the most of it."

The game with Cherry Tree on Saturday could prove decisive but Eastham believes Read have what it takes to win the league this year.

"Our changing room is buzzing right now, the whole season has been a magnificent team effort," he said. "We've beaten Barnoldswick, we've beaten Cherry Tree once and we've beaten Settle so you have to be confident.

"If you are not confident after the season we've enjoyed then you never will be. There are not many individuals in our team, people who can always change a game for you, but we have a bunch of cricketers who can be relied upon to get you your 10 and 15 runs that secure wins."

Reigning champions Cherry Tree took the Ramsbottom Cup two weeks ago by beating Settle on Read's ground and Eastham says it would be nice to turn the tables and beat them on their field. "The game is like a mini Cup final for both teams," Eastham said.

"There will definitely be a bit of banter amongst the lads as when Cherry Tree took the Cup some of our boys were cheering for Settle!

"I'm looking forward to the game and so are the rest of my team. We are all extremely positive.

"If we can pull out a result on Saturday, I will be backing us 100 per cent!"