CRADLEY Heathens opening fixture of the 2014 season at Coventry will now take place on Sunday March 23 with a 2pm start.

The Travel Plus Trophy first leg tie was originally scheduled for Friday March 21, but that date at Brandon has now been taken by the Elite Riders’ Championship, which will be broadcast live for fans on Sky Sports.

Heathens will therefore make the short trip to their Midlands rivals on the Sunday afternoon and will have their full team available. The return fixture, the Monmore Wood season-opener, remains and will go ahead on Tuesday April 1.

Cradley Chairman Nigel Pearson said: “We’re delighted to have agreed the revised date with Coventry so quickly, and it promises to be a great start to the season for the lads.

“We’ll have our full team at Coventry and everyone is looking forward to it. “There’s a certain ring about Coventry versus Cradley and it definitely sparks memories of great days back in the 1980s.

“I’m sure there will be plenty of Heathens fans making the journey and naturally we also look forward to welcoming the Coventry fans to Monmore for the second leg on April 1.”