CORNWALL skipper Paul Smith wants his side to ‘keep going hard’ when they welcome neighbours Devon in the final Group Four double-header of the season at Werrington on Sunday (11am and 2pm).

The Duchy have bounced back from their opening fixtures at Wiltshire where they collected just a tie from two games, by seeing off much-fancied Dorset and winless Herefordshire to move onto nine points from their six outings.

Devon make the short trip over the border with five wins and one defeat, but have the added pressure of knowing that with Wiltshire facing Herefordshire where they will start as favourites to win both, they can’t afford a defeat if they are to top the group and set up a home finals day, something both Cornwall and Wiltshire would dearly love as well.

However, despite having advanced to the next stage, Smith wants his squad to keep the intensity going.

He said: “We’re really looking forward to Sunday. We’ve already achieved our main aim objective of qualifying for the Super 12s which is nice after our first game where we only managed a tie and a loss against Wiltshire.

“We then knew we had a weakened side against Dorset who are one of the stronger sides, but to perform like we have since that first weekend’s fixtures, me and Godfrey (Furse, team manager) would have taken that all day long.

“We’ve turned a corner, we said we needed to be going harder and we did exactly that against Dorset where Moony (John Moon) batted out of his skin for his 100. But to set them 200 after we’d been a bit slack in the first week was really good.

“We’ll carry on that philosophy having gone four from four since then, and winning becomes a habit. Although we’ve qualified we’re aware that three teams can top the group, so we’ll be looking to keep going hard.”

Smith might be 33 now, but back at Werrington in the ECB Cornwall Premier League, he is relishing another outing for the Duchy at Ladycross.

He added: “I’m also really excited to be leading out the county again on my home ground, it’s always an honour and a privilege, and one I don’t take for granted. It’s shaping up to be a great day with the weather being set fair, and there’s normally a big crowd at Werrington.

“I can’t wait for it and I’m sure the lads will follow me in matching that emotion and looking for another two for two. But we’re aware that Devon are strong and are top for a reason, but we know that if we play to our full potential then we can beat anyone on any given day.”