Speedway: Watt hopeful over young team's chances (From Bournemouth Echo)

Speedway: Watt hopeful over young team's chances

7:00am Monday 26th July 2010 in

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DAVEY Watt admits a question mark still hangs over whether Australia’s new breed of young guns can adequately replace the consistently high scoring firepower of Jason Crump and Leigh Adams.

Pirates’ captain, 32, suddenly finds himself the elder statesman in a Kangeroos’ team that heads for World Team Cup event two at King’s Lynn tonight (7pm).

Adams, 39, in his final year of racing, has already retired from the international scene, while 34-year-old Crump, the three-times individual world champion, is currently sidelined through injury.

Instead, Watt’s teenage Poole Castle Cover colleague Darcy Ward makes his World Team Cup bow against Great Britain, Sweden and the Czech Republic.

Pirates spearhead Chris Holder and Peterborough duo Troy Batchelor and Rory Schlein complete the Aussie line-up.

Asked if his new-look team could match up to Crump and Adams’ firepower in tonight’s meeting, Watt, refreshingly, said: “That’s still left to be seen.”

Watt added: “I’m confident that all the youngsters we have in the team will step up to the plate.

“These are big meetings. Everyone tends to put a lot of pressure on themselves to do well.

“It’s a big event. They are all tough races. There are no easy races.

“Everyone needs to step up a gear in the World Team Cup and, hopefully, everyone in our team can do that.”

Watt continued: “I think we will do quite well. Sweden and GB are both pretty strong teams, but I think we’re all pretty evenly matched.