Cradley and Wolverhampton - the rivalry lives on..

Fans of Club Cradley Heath have been rewarded with the fixture everyone wanted - and it's the shortest trip they will make all season, as the Heathens travel to Monmore Green to face local arch-rivals Wolves in a second-half challenge on Monday 4 June.

Before then, Club CH take on Newport Mavericks this Sunday in another second-half, following Newport's Premier League clash with Arena Essex. Loyal Heathens stalwarts Gordon Meakins and Mitch Barker will again lead the team, and will be joined by a rider with almost as many appearances in the green-and-white, Dean Garrod.

The Black Country derby matches between Cradley and Wolves are arguably the most fierce and competitive in speedway. Just a few miles separate the clubs, and the conflict is inevitable with each and every meeting between the two providing both entertaining racing on track and a healthy supporters' banter on the terraces.

The competition between Cradley and Wolverhampton stretches back a long way, and there have been countless exciting clashes that have gone either way time and time again . If the league and cup encounters over the years were not enough, then the annual Dudley-Wolves trophy was always an added bonus to take in. A special head-to-head between just these two teams may only have been a two-leg challenge match to the uninitiated but, for the locals, the pride of the Black Country was at stake and the matches certainly couldn't be described as 'friendly'!

The titanic clashes between the historic speedway giants have thankfully been allowed to continue, despite Cradley's current track problems. In both 1997 and 1999, Wolves promoter Chris Van Straaten organised challenge matches to compete for the Tom Johnson Memorial Trophy - remembering the journalist who covered the sport on both sides of the Midlands.

Club CH have also faced a Wolves side once before, emerging victorious in August 1999 in the Conference Dudley-Wolves Trophy.