CLACTON Cricket Club chairman Gary Kirk has warned his players that they must improve their home form.

Long-serving Kirk admits his side were “poor” last year, finishing a disappointing fifth in division two of the Marshall Hatchick Two Counties Championship.

A contributory factor was their inconsistent home form and an improvement is needed if the club are to challenge for this season’s title and promotion honours.

Clacton’s next opportunity to lay down a marker is this weekend, when Essex rivals Braintree make the trip to Vista Road (1pm start).

“Four of our opening five matches were scheduled to be at home and while many clubs might consider that an advantage, our recent record is poor at Vista Road,” said Kirk.

“We’ve certainly been stronger on our travels and it’s hard to say why.

“Certainly in years gone by it’s been the other way round and it’s got nothing to do with our pitch, which is one of the best in the division - if not the best.

“In some ways it works against us because other sides seem to enjoy playing on it.

“Last year, especially, was poor and our overall record was won ten, lost ten.

“It’s not what we wanted.

“It was unusual for us to perform so badly and it was our home form that created the problem.”

Clacton have won one and lost one so far this season, in addition to having matches cancelled and abandoned.

The latter came on Saturday, when visitors Mildenhall made 207 for eight from their 45 overs.

Skipper Imran Sheikh and South African Harlan Greig both took four wickets, for 52 and 78 runs respectively, in their 15 overs.

However, having been on and off throughout the afternoon because of showers, the heavens opened and prevented Clacton having their innings. The match was eventually abandoned at 6.15pm.

The Seasiders will now look to build on their recent victory at Ipswich and East Suffolk when they welcome Braintree to Vista Road.

Kirk says his players have been working hard to improve on last season and hopes it bears fruit at the weekend.

“We’ve been practising so hard to turn things around,” he said.

“For the first time ever, we’ve been training all winter and we’ve tried so many different things as a team and a club to ensure our results improve.

“Now we have to put our trust in the players because we know we’re good enough. We have to be realistic about what we can achieve but we believe we can hold our own and be strong and competitive in this division.”

Clacton welcome back James Lee, Lewis Kirk and Ryan Chamberlain, who were all unavailable last Saturday.

The club welcome young players and hold free training sessions for five to 16-year-olds.

They take place on Monday evenings, at Vista Road, from 5.30pm to 7pm.