WILTSHIRE captain Ed Young knows a fast start could be crucial to his side’s chances if they are to enjoy a successful Unicorns Championship season.

Having seen their Knockout Trophy campaign ended at the culmination of the group stages a fortnight ago, Wiltshire turn their attentions to the three-day format.

They open up their Western Division challenge at Great and Little Tew against Oxfordshire, which starts on Sunday, and captain Young is keen to see his side put their best foot forward.

“It’s all about momentum. You want to start well and you want to start ingraining habits into how people should be playing,” he said.

“If you are building confidence early, then everyone is going to be playing much better.

“As a team, you want to be getting wins under your belt, and I know individuals want to be putting in performances so they can continue that momentum throughout the season.

“The first game is always quite key. You are adjusting because no one plays three-day cricket for their club.

“You need to learn the ropes quickly but hopefully it is quite an easy transition for the majority of the team.”

Wiltshire have not played since May 14 when they went down by eight wickets at Hertfordshire, their Trophy fate sealed a week later as they missed out on the quarter-finals on net run-rate following the final round of fixtures.

Young remains upbeat about the way his side played in the one-day competition and sees no reason why they cannot do even better over the longer format.

“It’s bitterly disappointing to be knocked out of the Trophy early on but there was still some good cricket played,” he added.

“Playing three-day cricket, you are not under as much pressure. It gives us a better opportunity without fielding restrictions as it will give our bowlers more confidence.

“How we finished in the Championship last year was exceptional, with two wins and a draw in our last three games, so if we can continue, that it’ll be a good start. As long as we are accurate with our bowling and when we’re batting, if once someone’s in they go big, then it should be good.

“A couple of the guys can’t commit to three-day cricket, especially some of the older guys with job scenario and families, so it will be a different looking side from the one-day games,” said Young.

“That gives others a chance to really stand up because in three-day cricket, you have the opportunity to put big scores up and bowl a lot of overs.”

Wiltshire (v Oxfordshire): Ed Young (Potterne, capt), Tahir Afridi (Henley), James Arney (Cosham), Neil Clark (Potterne), Billy Cookson (Trowbridge, wicketkeeper), Tom Grant (Devizes) Joe King (Corsham), Jake Lintott (Clevedon) Ashur Morrison (Corsham), Mikey Reynolds (Trowbridge), Brannon Varley (Westbury).