Scores on The Doors, JJ on the floor, averages and Polish scrutiny

A little later than normal due to some major behind the scenes efforts at Shielfield Park but here’s what’s coming up over the weekend.

Friday 24 August, 7.30pm: Oxford Cheetahs v R.E.D Bandits, powered by STS. Cab Direct Championship. Buy tickets

Saturday 25 August, 7pm: R.E.D Bandits, powered by STS v Plymouth Gladiators, Cab Direct Championship. Buy tickets

If your Morrison of choice is Jim rather than John then you’ll agree that the time to hesitate is through.

And that there’s no time left to wallow in the play-off mire. Indeed it’s time to light that fire on the road with – defending a 16-point advantage – at the very least the first claimed aggregate point of the season following us north from Oxfordshire on Friday night.

True it’s a track where there has been little joy for visiting Borders’ sides over the years – 2022 the only Berwick victory in 13 visits – but the Cheetahs have had a strange season with uncertainty surrounding their future at one point – thankfully solved – after the loss of the greyhound operation at the stadium which was brought back from the wilderness in 2022 and meetings cancelled to avoid clashing with England’s march to the football World Cup semi-final.

They currently lie second bottom of the Championship but would probably point out that the bulk of their fixtures have been road trips. Four of their remaining five meetings are at Cowley where only Glasgow have won this season.

A team built around Sam Masters and Erik Riss has suffered with the loss of the German to a re-ignition of the mysterious virus which affects his eyesight. Riss has been back on a bike again sparking speculation of a return to the Cheetahs colours but he missed a German league fixture this weekend and Oxford look set to stick with Edward Kennett for the rest of the campaign.

In Riss’s absence Sunday’s British Championship semi-final winner Anders Rowe and SGP2 qualifier, teenager Mitch McDiarmid, have been thrust into the pressurised number five role.

Rowe will be missing on Friday night having already travelled to Italy where he races for a place in the GP Series after qualifying from the GP Challenge in Terenzano via the Glasgow qualifying round. With two other Championship fixtures on Friday, Oxford will use rider replacement to cover his absence.

With 21-year-old Luke Killeen also in the side it is a youthful and at times erratic Oxford side but their sting may be come from two riders at the opposite end of the age, if not experience, end of the scale.

Former Bandit Dayle Wood and Darryl Ritchings have just over 60 second tier meetings under their belts between them – and in truth not many more points – but both have been mixing it with the best at Cowley, Wood paid for double figures on four occasions.

It’s a similar story on Saturday night when Plymouth arrive with the vastly experienced spearhead of Scott Nicholls and Danny King whose combined ages – let alone appearances and points tallies – are 20 years more than the sum total lived by Gladiators’ three Shielfield debutants Daniel Klima, Anze Grmek and Ben Whalley.

With another vastly experienced elder statesman, Ben Barker, still battling for fitness it could be left to Joe Thompson to provide back-up for the visitors as they look to defend a 20-point advantage in the bonus point battle.

Presumptuous as it may seem, Plymouth have never won at Shielfield Park – a 2015 draw their only success in 12 visits. And Bandits have passed the 50-point mark in nine of those encounters.

Bandits: Peter Kildemand, Jye Etheridge, Victor Palovaara, Jordan Jenkins, Nick Morris, Jack Smith, Reid Battye

Cheetahs: Sam Masters, Luke Killeen, Edward Kennett, Mitch McDiarmid, R/R for Anders Rowe, Dayle Wood, Daryl Ritchings

Gladiators: Danny King, Joe Thompson, Daniel Klima, Ben Barker, Scott Nicholls, Azne Grmek, Ben Whalley

Cab Direct Championship table

Ω While Anders Rowe was celebrating his British semi-final victory on Sunday elsewhere in the Leicester pits Jordan Jenkins was counting the cost to both body and machinery.

Having begun the afternoon fancied to hook one of the six available final spots he was floored by the speedway version of the unholy trinity – brought down, crashed, looped at the start.

Result: heavily bruised coccyx and lower back and a build-up of blood in the shoulder muscles which saw him miss Monday’s Premiership clash with Peter Kildemand’s Belle Vue Aces in Norfolk.

Jake Mulford brought our in-form mid-season signing crashing down on the second bend of heat one. Jordan got up to win the rerun but it would prove a costly exclusion for the Redcar Bear who lost a run-off with Will Cairns for the final qualifying spot.

A heavy solo crash in heat six saw Jordan disappear under the airbag and walk gingerly back to the pits holding his shoulder.

And the afternoon was over as a clutch cable failure in heat 10 saw Jordan’s bike loop at the start, throwing him off the back and landing heavily on the base of his spine.

That was enough and we will have to wait on a midweek injury assessment, as is the case with Nick Morris who continues to be treated for his chronic back problem.

Ω Friday night at Oxford is significant in more ways than one. It marks the sixth Championship/BSN Series outing for Reid Battye which means the Australian gets an official average after spending his rookie British season on an assessed four points (the KO Cup and knockout stages of the BSN Series don’t count towards averages).

So when we line-up against Workington next week Reid’s figure will be well over that original assessment, currently standing at 4.31, impressive progress for someone learning tracks and set-ups for the first time and also returning from a serious injury.

Rolling averages to 23 July, valid from 1 August

Compiled by Dennis McCleary, subject to ratification by BSPL. Reid Battye will get an official average following the meeting at Oxford on Friday.

2026 only averages

Ω Keep an eye and ear out for some unfamiliar faces in the crowd at Shielfield Park – and you could even find yourselves the star of the show in Poland.

For among those excited by the arrival of the Gladiators are a quartet of media men more used to casting their eye over the events in the Exstraliga and National League where five-figure crowds are the norm.

But reporters Damian Kuczyński, Michał Konarski and Przemysław Krukowski, along with photographer Grzegorz Starzec will be looking for angles and interviews in the Borders.

They will also watch Jye and possibly Nick on Thursday night when Sheffield take on Leicester in the Premiership before travelling to Armadale where Edinburgh host Plymouth, following the Gladiators to Shielfield Park on Saturday and rounding off their British trip by watching Jack Smith’s Buxton race against Leicester Lion Cubs at Hi Edge on Sunday.

“As well as being journalists we are big British speedway fans,” Damian, who along with Przemyslaw is a reporter and columnist for the speedwaynews.pl website, said.  Visit website Michal covers speedway for the general sports site Interia Sport Visit website.

“We are visiting for a week, taking in four speedway matches and looking forward to meeting fans, riders and officials, making lots of content and features for our websites.”

Ω Home and away 2026 averages

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