Wayne Benn will lead out Bradford Park Avenue at Horsfall tonight for their UniBond Premier Division clash with Gainsborough Trinity as he makes his 300th appearance for the club.

Benn, whose only other club was Bradford City, has been deputising as skipper in the absence of Mark Hancock through suspension but even if Hancock had been available for tonight's game the distinction of wearing the captain's armband would still have gone to Benn.

That point was made clear by assistant manager Ian Thompson when he named the team and said: "Wayne will be in the starting line-up and he will be captain, it is a fantastic achievement and the lad has only just turned 25.

"It shows his commitment to Bradford and he has every right to lead the team out with his head held high and feel proud.

"He has been one of our most consistent performers over the last few years and one of the most regular."

The fact is underlined by the player's record since his Avenue debut in a UniBond Division One clash with Radcliffe Borough on December 15 1995. From the 321 games Avenue have played since Benn has featured in 299.

Thompson and Trevor Storton will be hoping his milestone brings the team a change in fortune. They go into tonight's meeting with Gainsborough following their exit from the FA Trophy at Division One Kendal Town on Saturday.

Despite three recent home victories in the league, Avenue are still only just above the relegation zone while mid-table Trinity enjoy a nine point cushion from the same number of games played.

Winger Dean Calcutt comes back into the Avenue squad after serving a one game ban while Hancock sits out the last match of his three game suspension.

Bradford Park Avenue (from): Dootson, Bairstow, O'Brien, Richards, Stansfield, Quinn, Hayward, Benn, Maxwell, Thompson, Nazha, Lindley, James, Calcutt.