Sessay Cricket Club face a busy weekend with two important matches either side of a 224-mile journey.

First up today is Clifton Alliance in the York & District Senior Cricket League premier division, seeking to continue their recent good form in order to climb up the table.

Tomorrow then pitches Sessay into an away quarter-final against Scottish side Freuchie in the Persimmon National Village Cup.

Before focus can turn to the cup Sessay captain Stephen Langstaff and his team will have to face Clifton Alliance, a team just one place below them.

“Both teams will think they have underperformed this season,” explained Langstaff.

“Clifton only lost out to Dunnington for the title by six points last year, and for us we’re in decent form and we’re focusing on moving up the table.

“I see Clifton as one of the top four teams in the league and we need to get as many points as possible to climb the table.”

With previous fears of relegation seemingly dispelled the aim for Sessay is now a top-half finish and as near as they can get to last year’s fifth place.

With nine games to go they are sat in mid-table, 50 points clear of the drop zone.

Langstaff pointed at a possible Lord’s hangover from last year’s Village Cup success as the reason behind his side’s below-par form this campaign but from tonight onwards, when the team board the coach to head north of the border, the cup will once again be at the forefront of Sessay thoughts.

“It’s squeaky bum time in the cup now. Every round is more important than the last,” said the Sessay skipper.

Although Langstaff is looking ahead to the latter stages of the cup he’s careful to not take the challenge of Fife-based Freuchie lightly.

He added: “We’re two games away from Lord’s and three games away from winning the trophy so it’s exciting.

“Last time we played Freuchie, it was a tough game and we lost narrowly. They’re well-organised and we’ll be expecting a partisan atmosphere.”

Captain Langstaff was confident Sessay’s good league form wouldn’t be interrupted by their cup exploits: “I think the key is winning games. Winning breeds confidence and hopefully the cup and the league will complement each other.”

Langstaff confirmed his side would be unchanged for the double.