may have to fight for a table.

According to one seasoned operator of the popular local dice game, the number of tables at the annual cricket classic has dwindled considerably in the last decade -- and there could be less than ever tomorrow and Friday.

Crown and Anchor operators were being "put out of the game'' by the rising cost of renting a patch of grass at the host club, Mr. Ricky Sousa claimed yesterday.

"Every year there is a drop-off in the number of tables,'' he said. "There used to be as many as 35 in my father's day. There will probably only be around 15 to 20 this year.'' Mr. Sousa said last week's boycott of a St. David's county game by Crown and Anchor operators was a bid to help the "smaller guys'' who did not have established clienteles.

"We felt the $700 fee was too much considering it was raining and it was only a county game,'' said Mr. Leroy Basden, another veteran Crown and Anchor operator.

However, Mr. Sousa and Mr. Basden wanted to make it clear they would be taking part on both days of the cricket festival.

Mr. Sousa blamed the decrease in operators on the greed of local cricket clubs.

Commenting on the $1,000-a-day fee (up $100 over last year) for operating a table in the Crown and Anchor tent, Mr. Sousa said: "I can get the best real estate in Hamilton for that price!'' Mr. Sousa said he could only afford the steep fee because he and his father Mr. Richard Sousa had "an established, higher class clientele''.

"It is the smaller guy who is getting hurt,'' he said. "And it all goes back to the clubs. They are getting $23,000 for doing nothing except providing us with a little piece of land and getting the (liquor) licence. And they charge admission. It was $12 last year -- it will probably be $15 this year.'' Mr. Sousa warned the cricket clubs were only harming themselves by not lowering the fees. "A lot of people go to the game just for the Crown and Anchor,'' he said.

However, Mr. Basden pinned the blame on the Crown and Anchor concessionaire, Mr. Edward Welch, who owns International Shade All Tent Rentals.

Local cricket clubs chose Mr. Welch as this year's concessionaire after he submitted a bid along with several other businessmen.

Mr. Welch yesterday defended his fees, saying the St. George's Cricket Club wanted $23,000 up front, which was up over last year's price.

He said he was being forced to require anyone planning to operate a Crown and Anchor table at Cup Match to put down a $500 deposit before the end of today.

"For me to get anything out of the deal I need at least 15 tables at $1,000 each,'' he said, adding he expected around that number this weekend.

But Mr. Basden said Mr. Welch and others vying for the concession should have met with the Crown and Anchor operators and discussed the issue with them before coming up with their bids.

CUP MATCH TRADITION -- Crown and Anchor will again be played at the two-day cricket classic this week but high rental fees have reportedly reduced the number of table operators.