Scott Nicholls gave the Eastbourne Eagles faithful a finale to savour on opening night, then promised: "There is a lot more to come."

The Team GB skipper marked his Eagles debut by denying Leigh Adams a five-win full maximum in heat 15 as Eagles eased past Swindon 52-41 in the Craven Shield.

It was not always plain sailing for Nicholls. He was beaten by Adams when the Aussie star swept across from gate four to win heat one.

The GP rivals clashed again in heat 13 and this time Nicholls was excluded by referee Phil Griffin after falling as the two riders went shoulder to shoulder into the second bend.

Eagles fans, though, are clearly keen to take Nicholls to their hearts and he got a tremendous cheer when he went gate-to-flag in the nominated race to deny Adams his full house.

Nicholls admitted: "The exclusion in heat 13 was obviously a disappointment. I didn't feel it was a fair decision but you can't change those. All in all I was fairly happy.

"It's nice to finish on a high note. Leigh had been on fire so it's pleasing to stop someone going through the card.

"It's still really early days for us to be to be up to full speed.

"That's only my second proper meeting. It takes a while to get in the swing of things but I feel comfortable on the bike. I've got more testing and more improvements to make and I'm still not race fit. I'm stepping that up."

Eagles were in front by the time Nicholls produced his first moment of Eastbourne magic in heat six Having been outgated by Travis McGowan, he swept smooth as silk inside the Aussie on bend four first time around to take charge and lead Lewis Bridger to a 5-1 which put Eagles 23-13 clear.

Just as encouraging was what followed in heat seven as Edward Kennett held the inside line while young reserve Simon Gustafsson came outside to complete another 5-1, this time against Troy Batchelor and James Wright.

It was pretty straightforward for Eagles as they piled up four 5-1s between heats three and nine to race into a 36-18 lead.

Adams then found a degree of support, notably in a heat-11 8-1 with Mads Korneliusson, and Robins kept it respectable.

Until heat 15, the champagne moment of a bitterly cold night at Arlington belonged to Bridger.

Having pursued Korneliusson all the way in heat eight, he made his move off the final bend to come inside his rival and snatch the verdict on the line by a wheel.

Cameron Woodward has left the sanctuary of a reserve berth this season but not before time.

Adams was the only visitor to beat him and his best moment saw him muscle inside McGowan to complete a heat-nine full house behind Lee Richardson.

Oh yes, the skipper. Racing against his parent club he looked solid as you like, other than against Adams, until finishing the night with a disappointing heat-15 last.

But then balance will see Eagles through this season rather than relying on one big hitter.

At least the new era is under way now. Promoter Martin Hagon put the crowd at about 1,000, which was less than it would have been on Saturday had the meeting not been washed out.

They went home shivering but happy.

EASTBOURNE 52 S. Nicholls 1*,3,3,X,3 =10+1 L. Bridger 2,2*,3,0 =7+1 L.Richardson 3,1*,3,3,0 =10+1 C. Woodward 2*,2,2*,3 =9+2 E. Kennett 3,3,1,2 =9 S. Gustafsson 3,2*,0,1 =6+1 J. Brundle 0,1,0,0 =1.

SWINDON 41 L. Adams 3,3,6,3,2 =17 M. Korneliusson 0,0,2,2*,1* =5+2 T. Batchelor R,1,2,2 =5 J. Wright 1,0,1*,0 =2+1 T. McGowan 2,1,1,1 =5 T. Pijper 1*,0,0 =1 S. Alden 2,X,1*,1*,2 =6+2