Briefing: Final countdown, flying Aussies, Reid’s return, averages, hero worship and fashionistas

Wednesday June 24, 7.30pm: Poole Pirates v R.E.D Bandits, powered by STS. MAXICab Knockout Cup semi-final, first leg. Buy tickets Watch on PiratesTV

Saturday June 27, 7pm. R.E.D Bandits, powered by STS v Poole Pirates. MAXICab Knockout Cup semi-final, second leg. Buy tickets

A bit of cursing from the skipper and one very badly skinned knuckle but thankfully nothing worse to show after Jye’s thudding crash into the third bend polyfoam barrier.

Culprit was a split-pin which broke with the result that his rear chain detached and the ending was inevitable, turning a comfortable 5-1 with Jordan Jenkins into one of eight shared heats on Saturday.

The crash was followed by a plea to management. “Could we not have an air fence?” our black and blue dragon inquired: “because those foam bags are bloody solid.”

Best news is that he’ll be fit and raring to lead the R.E.D Bandits at Poole on Wednesday in the first leg of the MAXICab Knockout Cup semi-final.

Ω It may have been a while but we are no strangers to the penultimate stages of the second tier cup competition. And have a pretty good record too.

This will be our 12^th appearance spanning the eras from 1970s win over Canterbury to the 2005 loss against King’s Lynn.

In keeping with our reputation as doughty cup battlers in the 1980s and 90s eight of those 12 resulted in us reaching the cup final, the losses other than the aforementioned Lynn reverse, against Wimbledon in 1988, Peterborough 1998 and Rye House in 1992.

For those who remember and others who have only heard tales of the legends the full list is: 1970 (one leg): beat Canterbury 44-34. 1976: beat Boston 84-71. 1977: beat Boston 85-71. 1979: beat Newcastle 79-77. 1980: beat Mildenhall 89-67. 1981: beat Boston 101.5-90.5. 1984: beat Middlesbrough 83-72. 1988: lost to Wimbledon 91-101. 1989: beat Peterborough 98-94. 1992: lost to Rye House 81-97. 1998: lost to Peterborough 76-104. 2005: lost to King’s Lynn 89-100.

Ω  As surprises go, Josh Pickering’s performance on Saturday was one of the lesser . We know he rides Shielfield well, normally high, defintely wide and rather handsome too.

But even by previous visits that was a rocket ship he strapped himself to on Saturday. As a result Josh now has the two fastest times around Shielfield this season (level with Chris Harris for the second swiftest) with team-mate Connor Mountain also clocking up an impressive 65.7. Victor is now the fastest Bandit, also 65.7.

Ω Poole and the Bandits have met only twice in the second tier knockout competition.

One, 1989 can, rather like a Monty Python sketch, be repeated verbatim by hundreds of Berwick fans of a certain maturity, the 109-83 shellacking of the hot favourites to lift our second KO Cup, imprinted in memory for all time and to be discussed at the drop of a hat.

A modicum of revenge was gained by the Pirates the following season as they knocked us out in the second round and went on to beat Middlesbrough in the final.

It was a protracted affair the first effort at Berrington Lough abandoned after one heat due to rain on June 2.

Craig Boyce and reserve Tom Knudsen scored 13 apiece as Poole won 56-40 despite losing Alun Rossiter to injury early in the meeting.

With Berwick running rider-replacement for David Blackburn it was to David Walsh (14) and Mark Courtney (12) kept Berwick in the hunt.

Another rain-off meant that what had become the second leg finally took place at Berrington Lough on July 21.

Blackburn was back and scored 12, Courtney added another 10, but despite losing both reserves – Knudsen and Ian Gould – early Boyce’s sensational 16 points, 12 from Tony Langdon and Gary Allan’s ten were enough to restrict our victory on the night to 50-44, a ten point aggregate loss.

Ω With this week’s cup fixtures not counting towards averages Dennis McCleary has been busy compiling the latest standing which, when ratified by the Speedway Control Bureau, will be the Green Sheet Averages from July 1.

Reid Battye remains assessed at 4.00 until he completes six matches.

2026 only

Ω Good luck to Victor Palovaara who was among the points again on Saturday, as he prepares for Tuesday night’s Swedish championship round at Karlstad.

Team-mate Jordan Jenkins will have to wait in his bid for a British Final place after Sunday’s scheduled semi-final at Leicester due to rider availability issues.

It will now take place on July 2 with a 2pm start to avoid that day’s Football World Cup Final.

Ω Very quietly after most had gone home, Reid Battye slipped out onto the Shielfield shale and rattled off some impressive practice laps.

Impressive he looked too and in the end only the Berwick curfew stopped him lapping away happily into the night.

More laps at Duns under his belt and a return to the strict training regime that sees him pounding the streets and clifftops of Berwick with July 2 the day he expects to get the medical green light to return to racing.

Back in town after a trip to Australia, Reid revealed that a visit to a specialist recommended by three-times World Champion Jason Crump revealed some hitherto undetected damage from his clash with Workington’s Niklas Holm Jacobsen. Two more damaged vertebrae and sternum damage were identified by the Australian specialists.

Ω Pre-practice Reid was out and about in the crowd distributing items from his newly-launched hat collection. They now come in two flavours with an additional international edition and can be ordered via his Facebook page.

And collected in person which, sadly means and end to the cryptic posts telling the world that Reid Battye Racing hats could be collected from a man with a cardboard box stood by Morrisons car park.

Ω Hottest ticket in town this week? No question it’s the golden one being given away by Berwick Speedway’s Facebook and Instagram pages.

For simply liking, commenting and sharing you could be one of Saturday’s winners earning free admission for you and a friend, the chance to watch the racing from the centre green, a tour of the pits and a picture with their favourite rider.

Ω And proof that it’s not just fans who have racing idols. Scunthorpe’s Ryan Ingram is just 16 but he has already put in some stellar shifts for the Scorpions, especially round the Eddie Wright Raceway.

Not so on his Shielfield Park debut but he didn’t go away empty handed, tracking down his racing hero and, courtesy of co-promoter Sarah Bulman, going home with a picture of him and a smiling Peter Kildemand.

Hero worshipped.

Ω The transformation of Greg Blair from Borders larrikin to the shiny modern face of British Speedway (with the exception of Cumbria) continues apace.

Gone are the sliders, white socks, baggy shorts and shaggy mop which GB favoured in the early days of his switch from rider to commentator.

On Saturday to the sensible shoes, suit trousers, dress shirt and waistcoat ensemble was added a perfectly four-in-the-hand knotted black and gold tie.

Rumour is that a semi-final calls for a red silk cummerbund, while progress to any of the three finals within our grasp would entail a trip to Moss Bros and fitting for full evening dress.

PICTURES: Keith Hamblin