Saturdays guest Ricky Wells (red) seen here leading from the front at Derwent Park last season as the Comets number one! (picture: Dave Payne)

At 7:00pm this Saturday evening at Derwent Park the Workington Comets return to SGB Championship action when they entertain the Sheffield Tigers for the second time this season.

Back in early April the Comets ran out 54-37 victors when the two sides met at Workington but all the indications are that it will be a totally different situation this time around and one that could go right down to the wire.

On that occasion the Comets were at full-strength while the Tigers were without the injured Lasse Bjerre, however this time around it is the Tigers that are at full-strength!

The Comets are missing their inspirational skipper and number one Craig Cook, who will be captaining Team GB in the World Cup Final over in Poland that evening, while also missing is their injured reserve James Sarjeant, who is currently sidelined with a broken right thumb following his crash at Newcastle at the end of June.

Coming in as a guest to replace Cookie is last years number one and captain, Ricky Wells, who will be flying back to the UK from Poland where, barring what would be the biggest upset in Speedway World Cup history, his Team USA side will have been taking part in the previous evenings race-off where they are not expected to top the score-chart to claim the remaining place in the Final itself. Additionally, coming into the Comets side as a guest for the evening to replace James Sarjeant is Redcars Danny Ayres.

Meanwhile, the Sheffield Tigers are led by two former Comets that certainly know their way around Derwent Park number one Josh Grajczonek, who was the Comets number one back in 2014, and Kyle Howarth, a Comets asset, who rode for the club for four seasons from 2012 to 2015 inclusive; both of whom will be keen to score points against their former club.

Looking ahead to the fixture, club owner Laura Morgan said: Obviously it is not ideal to be going into the meeting without Cookie but unfortunately we have no choice as this is a fixture on the list and, having ridden less matches than any other side in the Championship right now, and missed a number of weekends due to the weather or other events taking place at the stadium, we really have to catch up on our league fixtures.

We urge everyone to get down to the stadium to watch live speedway, which promises to be a cracking fixture and, if need be, record the televised speedway and watch it when they get home!

We are delighted that Ricky has agreed to help us out, and by being prepared to jump straight back on a plane in order to do so shows his commitment to the cause of his former club and the friendships that we all built up during his time with us. Ricky is a very capable replacement, who knows the track as good as anyone. He still lives locally, shares a workshop with Mason Campton and is often seen down at Derwent Park on race-night when his own racing commitments allow.

We are also very grateful to Danny Ayres for agreeing to also help us out this Saturday while James recovers from his broken thumb. Hopefully another couple of weeks or so will see James back in the saddle in time for what promises to be a very busy spell for the club throughout July, August and early September as we look to catch up on our fixture backlog and make a push for the play-offs!

COMETS UPCOMING FIXTURES:

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Comets take on the Tigers - Cumbria Crack