JAMES Holder admits he is looking forward to testing himself against the might of Belle Vue and believes he can carry his Somerset form into the top flight.

Holder, the elder brother of Pirates spearhead Chris, replaces reserve Renat Gafurov for tonight’s league clash against the Aces at Wimborne Road, with the Russian committed to a meeting in his homeland.

The Aussie has turned in some impressive displays for the Rebels this season in the Premier League, after linking up with Pirates’ neighbours from Stoke last season.

The 25-year-old, who like his younger brother started his career with the Isle of Wight, has already increased his starting average at the Oak Tree Arena and will make his fourth appearance in a Pirates race jacket tonight.

Holder told the Echo: “It went okay the last time Matt Ford put me out and it was a good experience. I’m looking forward to it tonight and an Elite League ride is definitely something I’d like, but I think it’s a long way off for me at the moment so I’m just keen to get some experience at that level.

“It’s going well at Somerset. We were on top of the table for a while but we’ve had a few injuries and the weather hasn’t been great. We’ve got a few meetings left, though, so we are still in with a shout.

“I’ve put a point on my average this year so it’s been going well. It’s been perfect for me at Somerset because it’s not too far away from Poole.”

Pirates will be without Gafurov’s fellow reserve Christian Hefenbrock tonight, with the German expected to be sidelined for another three weeks following a crash in Germany on June 11.

Hefenbrock is also currently being treated for pneumonia as well as overcoming a shoulder injury and Kyle Newman takes his place in Pirates’ one-to-seven tonight.

Promoter Ford said: “It is far from an ideal situation for us and it really is going to make our meeting against Belle Vue much tougher.

“We always knew that this fixture would clash with Renat’s Russian commitments and ordinarily it probably wouldn’t have been too much of an inconvenience, but to have him and Christian both out at the same time is very unfortunate.

“James Holder will step in for Renat and I know that he and Kyle will be doing everything they can to support to the top five, but there will be no added pressure put on them.

“The extra pressure will be on the main body of the team members and we will need them all to continue the fine form they have been showing in recent weeks.”

Poole: Chris Holder, Darcy Ward, Davey Watt, Jason Doyle, Dennis Andersson, James Holder, Kyle Newman.

Belle Vue: Chris Harris, Rory Schlein, Patrick Hougaard, Charlie Gjedde, RR for Dawid Stachyra, Craig Cook, Ricky Kling.