ROCKHAMPTON are hoping to land a major double this summer with promotion from the West of England Premier League Prem Two Glos/Wilts division plus an appearance at the home of English cricket, Lord’s.

And they are already taking strides towards both landmarks this season, with two huge games on the horizon this weekend.

But captain Jack Spence admits that his players would rather make it to a second appearance on the hallowed ground of St John’s Wood, London, that get promotion.

Rockhampton, who are third in the table, play second-placed Goatacre and victory for the Rams will leapfrog them above the Goats to stand behind leaders Cheltenham.

Then, on Sunday, comes the National Village Cup Gloucestershire regional final against Corse and Staunton at The Boundary Field, the winners of which will go into the knock-out stages of the tournament, with the grand final at Lord’s Rockhampton scored a significant victory on Saturday when they beat local rivals Thornbury by seven wickets in the league to make it three wins out of five in that competition.

Rams skipper Jack Spence said: “It has been a decent start to the season for us and it’s always nice to get one over the local rivals.

“We finished third in the league last year and we recruited pretty well in the winter to add four new players. I think we are, at the moment, one of the strongest teams in the league but it has been the old guard who have got us out of a few holes so far.”

The two players who have saved Rockhampton’s bacon considerably so far are the Tyler brothers, Matt and Will, who have batted like Test match players at times.

Spence said: “The Tyler brothers have scored six hundred runs in the last five games. Matt has been on the pitch for every ball of our last three league games, and Will is a bit of a superstar and scores much quicker than his brother.

“We keep getting ourselves into trouble every week and can be something like 30-3 when these two get together and get us out of trouble.”

The Tylers will again be key for Rockhampton this weekend. But if it had to be out of the two competitions, Spence said thinks Lord’s takes priority to promotion.

“I would think, for the players, it’s more important for them – and me included – that we get to Lord’s,” said the captain.

“This is because every footballer wants to score a goal at Wembley and, for us, it is about taking a wicket or hitting a big innings and winning at Lord’s.

“Obviously, we want to win our group on Sunday and I think, for Corse and Staunton, the match will be like their own cup final because they want to beat us.

“But Frampton-on-Severn gave us a good game the other Sunday. We have been lucky because we have been drawn at home in each round but, if we win, then three of our four knock-out games are away.”

An unfortunate knock-on effect of promotion from the league for Rockhampton is that they will not be allowed to play in the Village Cup next season and that means a loss of revenue as the Cup brings a big turnout to The Boundary Field.

Nevertheless, a couple of victories in both competitions will keep that chance of an amazing double firmly on the radar.