The 'Vale men currently sit second in Section One of the Northern Cricket Union standings, level on points with Lurgan following four wins apiece from six fixtures.

Tomorrow's (Saturday's) meeting in Laurelvale is expected to attract a vocal crowd but Topping is refusing to place extra pressure on his players ahead of the encounter.

"If you look at Lurgan's history as a senior club then I think they will feel all of the pressure, not only to win this weekend but to gain promotion from the second tier," said Topping. "From our viewpoint, we are treating each match as it comes and just want to build on the bright start.

"This is probably the highest position Laurelvale have enjoyed at this point in around 15 or 20 years so the whole place is buzzing.

"We worked hard during pre-season and talked a lot about the correct attitude and sharing responsibility around the squad.

"The players have really responded and confidence levels are extremely high thanks to such a strong run of results."

Topping is delighted with the positive approach his players have adopted and feels it can only lead to long-term progress.

"A win for either side on Saturday will obviously provide a major push towards promotion and, due to the standings, defeat could cause a team to drop down to mid-table," he said. "However, we have put the foundations in place for a progressive campaign so know even defeat this weekend would not necessarily result in a major setback.

"One bad result is not going to disrupt the steps forward made by the players but the great thing about our start is that we now feel we can prove competitive against any team in the division.

"Lurgan have drainage problems so the game has been switched to Laurelvale and we hope to put that to our advantage.

"Laurelvale is in great shape and a high-scoring match appears on the cards, especially if we can attract a decent crowd to back the boys."

The match will start at 1 o'clock.