Eastern Counties rivals St. David's.

But apart from a St.David's team meeting which he attended three weeks ago, there hasn't been any further indication from the Bay player that he's ready to move.

Blakeney was one of a number of Bay players who stopped playing midway through last season following a dispute over club selection policies. The former Bermuda international also subsequently lost his place in the St. George's Cup Match team after weeks of inactivity.

Should he join St. David's, Blakeney would team up with top batsman Clay Smith, who will miss the first two months of the season because of suspension.

Already in the team are three of the Island's top young batsmen, OJ Pitcher, Chris Foggo and Landro Minors, who recently played for the Americas team in the Youth World Cup in Sri Lanka.

"He (Blakeney) has shown a little interest. He came down and sat in a meeting but we haven't seen him since,'' said Delby Borden, chairman of cricket at St.

David's.

"He just came down and asked if he could sit in and look at our programme. I said `no problem'. We don't stop anybody from doing that.'' Borden pointed out that Blakeney lived in St. David's for several years as a youngster and was eligible, through residence, to play for the club in the Eastern Counties but chose Bailey's Bay, where he lived initially.

"We always liked him down here,' said Borden. "I hope whoever he decides to play for that he takes the game seriously.

"When I was manager of the Bermuda team in Guyana he, Clay and Charlie (Marshall) stood above the rest of the other Bermuda batsmen.'' St. David's are looking to build on last season's success when they finished fifth in the standings. The team have the potential to be a force locally and with Smith and Blakeney in the same team would certainly be a side to watch during the upcoming season.

Last year they just missed qualifying for the Camel Cup, but this season will be looking to take their cricket to a higher level.

"We started training last year around Christmas and we got burnt out later in the season,'' explained Borden.

"Now we're taking it a bit slower. I'm hoping the senior guys can keep the youngsters motivated.'' Another player showing interest in returning to St. David's is batsman Philip (Billy Joe) Pitcher who played last season for neighbours St. George's, while youngster George O'Brien, who also played a few games for St. George's last year, is back training with St. David's.

"Another youngster you could see a lot of is Shannon Raynor who had a knee injury last year,'' Borden explained. "He is going to be an asset.'' Meanwhile, Bay will begin preparation for their season with a meeting tomorrow night at the club at 6.30. It is then that captain Charlie Marshall will have an indication of the intentions of some of his players who quit the team last year in protest.

"I have put that behind me and we just have to move on,'' said Marshall of the controversy that marred the club's promising season.

Those players who stopped playing included Blakeney, Ricky and Corey Hill and Damon Edwards, while Dennis Pilgrim, Irving Burgess and Irving Romaine initially stopped but later resumed playing.

The incident that led to the division within the team came in the Camel Cup final last July against St. George's when the team were involved in a dispute prior to the start of the game over the selectors' decision to play Jason Anderson ahead of Pilgrim.

A bowler with a fastest delivery clocked at 95 miles per hour showed up at the offices of Bermuda Cricket Board of Control yesterday...looking to take on Bermuda's top batsmen.

The Testimonial Committee took the new `find' to the BCBC office when three committee members, St. Clair (Brinky) Tucker, Alf Oughton and Stephen West presented board president El James with a bowling machine they purchased from funds raised during last year's testimonial match.

"It's long overdue,'' admitted Board administrator Michael Glasford.

"Everybody has been saying there are no fast bowlers on the Island, now we have one that doesn't get tired.'' The machine is a training device for batsmen. And for those who want to improve their technique against spin bowling, the machine can switch to the slower stuff, too, with the ability to bowl both leg and off-breaks.

Glen Blakeney: would add depth to St.David's batting should he decide to move from Eastern Counties rivals Bailey's Bay.