SUFFOLK have one eye on the future as they travel to Staffordshire for their penultimate Minor Counties Championship match of the season.

With any realistic chance of claiming the Eastern Division title this season ended by the six-run loss to Cambridgeshire in their last match, two of Sudbury’s promising youngsters join team mate Matt Hunn in a 13-man squad for the three-day fixture beginning tomorrow at Knypersley (start 11am).

Wicket-keeper-batsman Adam Mansfield, who made his debut in last season’s match against Buckinghamshire at Ipswich School, is included in the squad for the first time since then along with leg spinner James Poulson, who is called-up for the first time.

Mildenhall all-rounder Ben Shepperson, who made his debut againt Cambridgeshire, is again included along with Essex leg spinner Tom Craddock, who is on a dual registration and was named in the original squad for the match at Wisbech but then had to withdraw after he was recalled by his parent county.

Suffolk skipper Justin Bishop said: “Leg spinner James Poulson is a promising young player who is included after playing in the Gibbs Denley East Anglian Premier League all season along with Adam Mansfield at Sudbury. Ben Shepperson fielded and bowled very well at Wisbech and is in the squad once again.”

Suffolk have dropped to eighth in the Eastern Division as a result of the narrow loss at Wisbech, while Staffordshire sit third - 11 points behind leaders Cumberland - with two rounds of matches to go.

Bishop added: “Staffordshire away is always a tough game. They are a solid side who have already beaten us in the one-day competition this year.

“We must all perform at our best and look to get some form in our respective league games for our clubs on Saturday, in order to give ourselves a chance of victory.

“We were very disappointed with the Cambridgeshire result, after we felt that we controlled large parts of the game. We must take what positives we can from that game into the Staffordshire game.”

Suffolk squad: T Huggins, B France, M Cull, H Adnan, S Ward, B Shepperson, C Swallow, C Warn (wkt), J Bishop (capt), M Hunn, T Craddock, J Poulson, A Mansfield.