Eastbourne have rewarded Jake Knight’s flying start to the season by making him skipper.

Eagles want to take some burden off the shoulders of Georgie Wood and see Knight as the perfect man to take over the captaincy.

He will lead the team for the first time at home to Cradley Heath on Saturday.

Wood replaced the injured Richie Andrews as skipper but Knight has been told the job is his for the foreseeable future.

Club director Connor Dugard said: “We want to take some pressure off Georgie because, with the lack of fixtures, he hasn’t been riding as much as he would want. We want him to get back to his best racing.

“We also feel a lot of the team really look up to Jake. He is very approachable, he goes about getting the team ready and he is very good with the fans.

“That’s not saying Georgie is not those things but Jake is the rider in form. We want to reward that and we are confident he can do the job.”

Gary Cottham rides at No.2 on Saturday and got through a profitable practice session at Arlington on Sunday. Another run-out is planned for the inexperienced local boy.

Dugard said: “Hopefully he can get some points on the board.”

Eagles: Ellis, Cottham, Wood, Perks, Knight, Harris, Powell.