Willow Cuts are still champions of the Western Counties.This after rivals Somerset Bridge Recreation Club (SBRC) withdrew their protest against the cup holders.Bridge had launched an appeal against Cuts who they accused of fielding an ineligible player in last weekend’s Western Counties first round clash at Southampton Oval.The White Hill club had appealed on the grounds that Cuts’ wicketkeeper Ricardo Brangman shouldn’t have been allowed to play.However, Bridge withdrew their appeal after it was determined that one of the their own players, Coefield Robinson, was also ineligible.Robinson, who plays league cricket for Flatts, was deemed ineligible because his name was not submitted as a guest player to the Western Counties Cricket Association (WCCA) prior to the specified deadline.Competition rules stipulate that “all names of guest players must be submitted, in writing, to the Western Counties’ secretary within 14 days prior to each match”.“We had a guest player whose name was submitted late,” stated Bridge president and Environment Minister Marc Bean. “Being that both teams had an ineligible player and there was a result from the match, we decided to withdraw the appeal for the continuity of Western Counties. The game itself is more important than winning Counties.”Brangman, who joined Cuts at the beginning of the 2012 cricket season, will take no further part in this summer’s Western Counties series.Rules governing the competition state that “any player who plays for a member club in the Western Counties and transfers to another member club within the Western Counties shall be ineligible to play for the previous or latter club for two calendar years from the date of this transfer”.Brangman represented PHC as a guest player in last summer’s Western Counties competition.Cuts vice-captain Malachi Jones claimed that Brangman was initially deemed eligible to play by the WCCA prior to last weekend’s match.“We was informed that he was able to play and that was it,” he said. “I think it was just a misunderstanding between the club and the Western Counties committee.”No one from the WCCA could be reached for comment at press time yesterday.Cuts beat Bridge by 61 runs in last weekend’s first round match.Cuts will now rest their title on the line against Southampton Rangers on Saturday at Southampton Oval.