Old Hill are banking on the return of opening bowlers Gemaal Hussain and Richard Jones to reignite their title ambitions.

Karl Pearson’s men have lost their way of late after setting the pace for much of the campaign. Now they find themselves in second, 13 points adrift of Shrewsbury, following last weekend’s draw with Coventry.

The pair should be back after a two-month absence along with wicketkeeper Paul Vinas.

Pearson misses out but will be available for Sunday’s Staffordshire Cup quarter-final.

Spokesman Steve Derham said: “Last weekend was disappointing, and on the back of not having played against Sutton it’s not been a great fortnight for us but hopefully we can put that right this week.

“Obviously we would like to be clear at the top. That isn’t the case at the moment but I’m sure there’ll be a few more twists and turns before the season finishes.”

Halesowen captain Mark Fisher has hailed the character of his side as they prepare for a series of matches that he has branded as vital.

Fisher’s men bounced back from defeat against Wellington with a three-wicket win over Attock at the weekend.

He said: “Before the Attock game we looked at the fixtures and the next four matches were all against teams in the top five.

“After that we have matches against teams below us, so if we can pick up some points in the next few games, then we can really attack the last few.

Fisher names an unchanged side for Saturday’s clash Shrewsbury at home on Saturday.