PROMOTION to the Premier One Division is the goal Chippenham skipper Jason Searle has set his players for the new season.

Off spinner Searle is captaining the team for the second successive season and wants them to build on last year's fifth place finish.

He said: "We are really hoping to try and get promoted but it will not be easy because this league is quite competititive.

"With the structure of the leagues there are now better sides getting into the Premier One and Premier Two divisions. They have more money available to them.

"But hopefully we can have a good season and being with a shout of promotion.''

Searle is hoping for big seasons from all-rounder Richard Bates and newly signed overseas player Jason Lawson, who hails from Newcastle, Australia, while the skipper is also putting pressure on himself to take his fair share of wickets.

He added: "My aim is simply for us to get promoted but it is going to be tough.

"We need to be lucky with injuries because we only have 12 or 13 first XI players.

"But having said that our youth set-up and academy is among the best around and I'm confident I will be able to call up some of the younger players if we need to.''

Chippenham start the new season this weekend with a mouth-watering local derby at home to Devizes.

Searle continued: "It is a great way to start the season by playing one of your local rivals.

"They came up from Division One last season so we don't know too much about them to be honest.''

Newly-promoted Devizes are solely focussed on staying in the Premier Two division for a second season.

After narrowly avoiding the drop from the Wiltshire and Gloucestershire Division One two years ago they just managed to squeeze into the promotion zone at the end of last season.

Now Devizes skipper Mark Colyer wants to get some stability back at the club as the players look to test themselves at a higher level.

He said: "This year all about consolidation because at the end of the day we don't yet know what the standard of the Premier Two is all about.''

It is his sixth year out of seven as skipper and his second consecutive season in his current stint.

Without too many changes to the team Colyer is hoping the Devizes players can build on the experience they gained last year.

"We have not lost any key players and hopefully our youngsters will be a year wiser now and come through for us,'' he added. "They are all good players who now just need to go one step higher. This season it is all about testing ourselves.

"It will be a new experience playing a higher standard of cricket but we are all looking forward to it.

Devizes have signed 20-year-old Australian wicket-keeper and batsman Jake McAuley as their overseas player while Colyer is hoping for consistent seasons from fast bowler James Ashford-Brown and all-rounder Tim Saye.

"Jake will help our batting and hopefully James and Tim have gained more experience while playing in Australia during the winter,'' said Colyer.

"Tom Edwards had come back stronger after taking a year out because of work and we are hoping for another good season from all-rounder Paul Vooght.

"We are looking for our older players show responsibility and nurture the younger players along.''

Devizes are now readying themselves for their opening fixture of the season away at Chippenham.

"It is nice to start with a local derby and we are looking forward to it,'' Colyer continued.

"Once we get the first match out of way we can go from there because it will give us an idea of what is needed at this level.

"This is a new experience for all the club and at end of the day we've gone a step further every year. The next step if to go up to the Premier One.

"Hopefully the higher standard we can play the better players we can attract to the club and it will keep snowballing.''