HEREFORDSHIRE get their Minor Counties Championship programme underway when they travel to Oxfordshire for a three-day clash, starting on Sunday.

And they will be hoping that this campaign will prove more profitable than the last two seasons in which they won just one of their 12 matches.

But the county side can take some comfort from the fact that the best result they achieved last year - and the only occasion on which they avoided defeat - was against Oxford-shire.

That was at Kingsland last June when Herefordshire finished 36 runs short of victory with two wickets in hand.

A number of Herefordshire's local players shone in that match with Henry Langford falling agonisingly short of a maiden Minor Counties century when he was bowled for 98.

Ashley Nahorniak, who was making his debut for the county, and Owen Price both chipped in with useful scores of 44 while Price also picked up four wickets.

All of this trio will be turning out again at Challow on Sunday but it was another local player who made the biggest impact last season when Jabran Khalid's 7-32 analysis was the best returned by a Herefordshire player in Minor Counities cricket.

Unfortunately, Eastnor skipper Jabran is currently injured and will miss out this year.

Herefordshire are waiting on the availability of Tom Glover who has also been turning out for Surrey 2nd and may be required for one of their matches.

Otherwise, the county show two changes from the side which defeated Cumberland in their final MCCA Trophy match at Workington.

With Richard Hall unavailable, veteran Harshad Patel is recalled to the line-up and will be hoping to add to his impressive tally of 5,359 runs and eight centuries for the county. Patel, who made 0 and 63 against Sunday's opponents last year, has yet to reach three figures against Oxfordshire and will no doubt be looking to put an end to that minor blemish in the game beginning at the weekend.

The other Herefordshire change sees Price returning to the fold in place of Yorkshireman Aftab Ahmed who stood in for the final two Minor Counties clashes.

Herefordshire: Harshad Patel, Ashley Nahorniak, Henry Langford, Chris Boroughs (capt), Kez Ahmed, Gulsheraz Ahmed, Ian Stevenson, Owen Price, Josh Tingle, AN Other.