IT'S a case of Sittingbourne Crusaders old and new in speedway action this week as a team called the Knights takes to the famous track at Wimbledon for a special invitational four-team tournament on Wednesday.

The Knights will include home rider Matt Wright, who was runner-up in last season's Nathan Gaymer Memorial Trophy at the Old Gun Site, plus a trio of Sittingbourne skippers in David Mason, Chris Hunt and Andre Cross.

Mason led the Crusaders in their 1995 and 1996 Conference campaigns - finishing top of the division's averages with still unmatched full-season figures of 11.38 in 1996.

The rider from Crawley, who has also starred for Arena Essex and the London Lions, went on to win the Conference League Riders crown as a Rye House Raider in 2002.

Mason currently captains the favourites for this year's Conference League title, the Weymouth Wildcats.

For current Crusaders club captain Hunt, Wednesday marks a return to competitive speedway after suffering a broken collar-bone.

Hunt was skipper of the Wimbledon Dons for two years and remarkably never missing a match throughout 2002 and 2003, before being controversially dropped from the Londoners' squad. The "Huntsman" will have a point to prove in the capital.

So will Cross, who has stood in as skipper for Hunt during his injury lay-off.

Cross rode for Wimbledon from 2002 to the beginning of this season before also being deemed surplus to requirements.

The tournament will serve as valuable practice time for Hunt and Cross in advance of a vital league clash against the high-flying Scunthorpe Scorpions in Lincolnshire on Sunday.

The action on Wednesday gets underway at 7.30pm.