Kris, 14, makes a mark

KRIS MOHERNDL turned up at a damp King George V Field yesterday probably expecting to make up the numbers. Total Cobo skipper Jeremy Frith had other ideas.

The stand-in captain threw the new ball to the 14-year-old Les Beaucamps schoolboy and 45 overs later he walked off the pitch with figures of three for 43 from 10 impressive overs.

Steady rain was the eventual winner of the new curtain-raiser to the weekend cricket programme, Rovers edging their way to 155 for nine in 45 overs and Cobo's batsmen, itching for some middle practice, being denied by the worsening weather.

After a lengthy delay the GACUS umpires quote reasonably decided to call it a day at around 5pm.

Both teams were well below strength for this new annual clash between the weekend league champions and the Knockout winners.

Quite where the advantage lay when play came to a premature halt was unclear, but both captains had reason to feel satisfied.

In Richard Hamilton's case that had much to do with his first half-century of the season.

Hamilton survived the Turville-Moherndl new-ball threat to score 60 from 86 deliveries and under-pin the Rovers' innings.

He eventually fell, bowled by the youngster, who used the conditions well.

Frith, meanwhile, was delighted with his decision to play Moherndl ahead of some of the club's more proven performers.

'He's made my day,' said the player-coach who will now hand back the captaincy to the newly-married Stuart Le Prevost.