'Unfit' wicket hits Stanmore hopes

Stanmore's chase for a major club cricket Cup double has been thrown into disarray by a rogue wicket.

The Middlesex League side, quarter-finalists in both the National Knockout Cup and the Evening Standard Challenge Trophy, now face an uphill battle to reach the two finals after the events of last Sunday on the Common.

Umpires Bob Timson and Barry Hulks abandoned the National Cup quarter-final against Havant on Stanmore Common after only 10 overs, with Stanmore on 35 for no wicket.

They ruled the wicket dangerous and unfit for cricket after two good length deliveries had climbed over the batsmen and wicket-keeper's heads for four byes.

A replay has been ordered for this Sunday with Stanmore losing home advantage and their Challenge Trophy quarter-final against Ealing, scheduled for Stanmore Common this Sunday, will now transfer to Ealing. Stanmore captain Glucka Wijesuriya, who was batting with Mark Dyson when the umpires stepped in, admitted: "They had no other option. You can't have the ball flying over the keeper's head.

"It was our fault entirely, we had a choice of three strips and picked the wrong one which hadn't been prepared.