So far in their two matches Old Boys have produced two solid efforts and been in positions of relative strength before losing in unfortunate circumstances.

In round one against Rugby they were almost able to defend a mediocre total before the Rugby lower order rallied and snuck home with two wickets in hand.

Last Saturday they produced a powerful batting performance, thanks mainly to Charlie Coggan who hit 94, before rain and an aggressive start from Bathurst City meant that they took the win on run-rate.

"I don't think our luck is far from turning around," Old Boys skipper Evan Jones said.

"We've been playing pretty solid cricket as far as I'm concerned and I don't think we are a long way off getting the rewards for it.

"Oxford are always fairly strong but we've actually got a fairly good record against them in the last few seasons and haven't lost to them for a while."

Indeed, Old Boys won both the one-day clashes between the sides and were well-poised when the second half of their two-day game was washed out last season.

Their last defeat to Oxford (now Oxford Centennials) was in round two, 2008-09.

Jones says that he won't be panicking if his team can't pick up a win today, but he conceded a third straight defeat would make it hard for them to pull back ground on the frontrunners.

"We've seen teams in the last two seasons lose their first three matches and still play finals," he said.

"It isn't the end of the world if we lose this week. But we do start to lose touch with the leaders and a win would really kick-start us a bit."

Ox-Cents meanwhile will be after some consistency after an up-and-down opening to season 2010-11.

They hammered City Colts in the opening round three weeks ago, humbling the defending premiers with a superb bowling display, but last Saturday were smashed around the Sportsground by Rugby's Dean Watkins as the Bulldogs cantered to an eight wicket win.

Of most concern so far for captain Russell Gardner would be the fact that his batsmen have produced two mediocre totals and both of them depended on standout individual efforts ? half centuries to Kesh Pillai in round one and Troy Oxley in round two.

That said, the return of Gardner and Josh Toole who were both on duty with the Mitchell side last week will be a bonus.

"What I'd love to see is our openers getting through the new ball and really giving the rest of the batsmen a solid platform to go from," Gardner said.

"The performance of the young guys who have come into the team like Pete McCleary and Andrew Brown has been encouraging though which is a positive, they just need to build their confidence a little and keep showing they belong at that level.

"I have every confidence myself that they can do that."

Gardner pointed to Old Boys as a side who had generally given his team more trouble than most over recent season, largely due to their unpredictability and their handful of players who are capable of swinging a match on their own.

With Gardner and Toole just two of a few players set to return to the Ox-Cents' starting line-up, the final decision on their team was not expect to be announced until last night.

OLD BOYS: Evan Jones (c), Tim Jones, Phil Davis, Charlie Coggan, Jared Rowe, Wayne Comerford, Anthony Roohan, Matt Fennell, Brad Schumacher, Glenn Robinson, Dave Current.

OXFORD-CENTENNIALS: To be confirmed.