HOLSWORTHY’S battle to stay up in Division Two East of the Bond Timber Cornwall Cricket League has been given a huge boost by the re-signings of Jack Greening and Matt Shepherd from Callington as well as St Austell left-armer Rob Mitchell.

Greening, who had played all of his junior and senior cricket at the Trees before making the move over the winter to try his luck at Premier League level, returns having scored plenty of runs for the seconds, but also registered two ducks in his two first team appearances.

Shepherd, who was appointed first team vice-captain before the season started at Moores Park, has twice left Stanhope Park for Callington, but is back for a third spell.

Greening will likely resume his previous roles where he opened the batting and bowling, while Shepherd is set to bat in the top four and send down his lively pace bowling when required.

Mitchell joined St Austell with designs on forcing his way into the Philippines national squad, but after failing to make much of an impact and finding himself in the third team in the same division, has also decided to rejoin his hometown club.

Club chairman and first team captain Ryan Walter admitted their return was a huge boost to a side who are second bottom, 11 points adrift of St Minver who they visit on Saturday.

He said: “It’s great to have re-signed Jack, Matt and Rob, and with them available it gives us a different dynamic, and gives us some much-needed selection headaches.

“We’ve obviously missed Jack’s all-round skills and consistency, while Matt is obviously a different kind of player, but he can take the game away from anyone.

“Rob’s left-arm bowling adds a different dynamic to the attack, so having these three back gives us a real lift in our quest for survival.”

Greening is set to be available for Thursday night’s trip to Werrington Seconds in the Division Two T20 Cup, while Shepherd and Mitchell will have to wait until Saturday.