THERE will be plenty of local talent on show as the Winter County Cup lands in Bolton for the first time in its history this weekend writes Chris Hall

Tournament bosses have made the tough decision to ditch the competition's traditional Nottingham home in favour of the impressive purpose-built Bolton Arena.

The move is another significant coup for the Arena, which has already staged the National Tennis Championships and the Commonwealth Games badminton this year.

And it looks certain to boost Lancashire's hopes of retaining their Men's Division One crown, with no fewer than four local players set to do battle on their home patch.

Bolton's Craig Edmondson, John Lister and Simon Roberts, along with Andrew Davies of Bury, make up the backbone of a young Lancashire side for the three-day event, which started this morning.

They face a stiff test of both skill and character in a knife-edge group including Middlesex, Kent and a strong Yorkshire outfit.

And team captain Eric Knowles is under no illusions over the difficulty of their task ahead.

"It's a real group of death," he said.

"Because of the pyramid system of promotion and relegation, the bottom two teams at the end of the competition get relegated. That means you either win it, come second or get dropped.

"Going into the last day last year, we could have still gone down and Surrey, who we beat in the final, actually did. So it's a very pressurised and tense competition right until the last point."

That could stand against the local players, with only Roberts playing full-time and Davies and Lister making their County Cup debuts.

"Playing against full-time players is going to be a big test for them," added Knowles.

"They might play great on the first day but struggle to keep up their performance levels for the next two. We will have to wait and see.

"John Lister is a good singles player who has come back into competition after coaching at the Arena, while Andrew Davies is at university in Salford and Craig has been working away in Texas.

"But they are all playing well and the other lads in the squad are well established County Cup players who can help them along.

"It will be interesting because it's a very strong group. Just to stay in it for next year will be an achievement."

Lancashire's ladies team, featuring Bury's Lisa Cartwright, will take on Surrey, Warwickshire and Yorkshire.

THE competition runs all weekend at the Bolton Arena and admission for spectators is free.