former Cup Match player with comments he has made publicly.

This time the man taking exception to what was said about him in a newspaper article is all-rounder Lee Raynor, whose three-hour innings of 30 against St.

George's Smith referred to when quizzed about whether the format for league cricket next season should be returned to limited overs.

"In open play players can bat for longer periods but this can become frustrating as was the case recently when Lee Raynor of Social Club batted for three hours and made only 30. If this was limited overs he would have had to get on with it,'' Smith said in the article this week.

Raynor said he could not understand the criticism especially as Smith was playing in the same match and recognised the desperate situation Social Club were in after losing their first four wickets for six runs. Raynor also pointed to Smith's own innings against Western Stars earlier this season when he batted for six hours for 57 not out as St. George's scored only 130 for one! "What he said didn't make cricket sense,'' an angry Raynor said yesterday.

"They were going to mop right through us after having us four for six. It was a survival situation, not a normal situation.

"That three-hour innings showed the character of the batsman, surviving for three hours on a wicket with uneven bounce. Wendell must have forgot that he batted for six hours for 50-odd runs. I take exception to what he said because he is a Cup Match captain and is supposed to be able to read a game and see the situation I was in.'' Raynor, playing in his first season in five years at the age of 49, was lured out of retirement to assist Social Club in a player/coach role. He showed his class by being their top batsman with 518 runs for the season.

One of the reasons Raynor came out of retirement was to help develop Social Club's programme. For that reason he is not in favour of limited overs nor the Super Eight, which inevitably would mean Social Club being in the bottom division.

"I don't support limited overs because when I was coming up it was easy to groom a youngster because they could concentrate and build an innings,'' Raynor explained. "In limited overs you can't build an innings and you keep swiping.

"After coming back after this five-year lay-off I was shocked at the standard of the cricket. Everybody just seemed to be going through the motions.'' Raynor added: "I'm also against the Super Eight because for teams like Social Club, Warwick and Somerset Bridge they get exposure (against the top teams) even if they get knocked down for 40. Social Club have improved, we bowled Bay out for 158 and drew with Cleveland.

"Next year we're going to go a step further. This is the first time Social Club haven't finished last in a few years.'' LEE RAYNOR.