BURNLEY ON STICKY WICKET

JOE LEWIS is determined to hit Burnley for six in the Europa League – after indulging his passion for cricket in Aberdeen.

The Pittodrie keeper is a huge fan of the sport and, after settling in the Granite City in 2016, has even taken up membership at the local Aberdeenshire Cricket Club.

Lewis is a regular with his son at Mannofield and, while he has not brought much luck to the club lately, it has afforded him the chance to unwind over the close season following another fraught battle for second spot with the Dons.

He said: “I’m a big cricket fan. I’ve been following Aberdeenshire and gone down there a few times. I went the other day actually and they didn’t do too well – they’d just been hit for 300-odd! I think the reply was 180.

“I really enjoy going down there, my little boy loves it as well. There is plenty of area for him to knock around in and go in the nets.

“They are all really friendly. I’m actually a member now and it’s only a few hundred yards from my house so it’s a nice place to go.”

The calming sound of leather on willow will soon be forgotten as Aberdeen prepare to return to action with a Battle of Britain clash against Burnley in the Europa League.

Derek McInnes’s men will be big underdogs for the encounter as they go up against the financial clout of an EPL side.

But Lewis said: “It’s a difficult game. There were easier opponents we could have been drawn against but we’ve got to back ourselves.

“There’s a long way to go before that game, we have plenty of training sessions to fit in, but we’ll go into the games with confidence.”