The Bailey’s Bay flag was reportedly burned at St David’s Cricket Club on Saturday night following their Eastern Counties defeat and posted on social media network Instagram.St David’s president Otis Minors said he knew nothing of the incident when contacted yesterday, but Bay captain Stephen Outerbridge expressed sadness over the act which was brought to his attention.“It definitely has not gone down well with my players,” said Outerbridge who saw the image on Instagram. “The flag was left down at the club after the game.”Outerbridge hoped the incident wouldn’t create a tit-for-tat situation when the competition is played at Sea Breeze Oval next year. Rivalry is strong among the teams in a competition that is 109 years-old but champions Bay were gracious in defeat after being dismissed for just 89 batting first on Saturday.“I thought the game was played in true spirits, I told them congratulations,” said Outerbridge. “They say it is a bit of history behind it, but what does it stand for when you burn somebody’s flag . . . it goes beyond cricket. I just hope they understood the consequences.“People talk, ‘yeah, St David’s are the best’ and all that’s good, but when you light fire to certain things it goes way overboard. Eastern Counties is about bragging rights but this goes past game rivalry.“I don’t have hard feelings against St David’s, both teams are great competitors, they respect each other, but to do something like that is really uncalled for. It is something in sports that we have to deal with. Let’s just hope nothing comes out of it, that something crazy doesn’t happen.”Said Minors: “I don’t know anything about that situation, I just hope it wasn’t any of my players that did something like that. Fans sometimes take things too far, you see it in England when a player would transfer from a club and they burn his jersey, so that is something that goes on in sports right now.“I don’t want people’s emotions to get carried away. I do recall years ago that a St David’s flag got burned once. I don’t have a problem with anybody from Bailey’s Bay, that’s my family and that’s what the Eastern Counties is about, it’s a family thing which is why it is so big. I don’t condone that behaviour.”Added Minors: “St David’s approached the game in good spirits and Bailey’s Bay did their best with the low total they had. I was always nervous because low scores are always hard to get and the way the wicket was playing anything could happen. The win was something big for the club, the community and the sponsors who invested time and money into our programme.“The trophy was given up by us (St. David’s boycotted the series in 2010 and ‘11) so we never really lost it and to win it back on home soil was a big thing.”Eastern Counties president Stephen Douglas said he had no concrete information about the incident and was unable to comment yesterday. But he vowed the matter would be looked into when the ECCA executives meet on Thursday night.As is tradition after a win, the St David’s team jumped into Red Hole with the Eastern Counties trophy, not the original but the replica.The paltry 89 posted by champions Bailey’s Bay came two days short of the 35th anniversary of their previous low total of 84 scored against Cleveland County. On that date, August 19, 1978, Bay, the then holders, were dismissed for 84 by Cleveland pair Paisley Caines and teenager Kevin Ratteray who shared nine wickets, Caines claiming five for 22 from nine overs and Ratteray four for 20 off 12 overs.Bay were replying to Cleveland’s 122 all out after brothers David and Noel Gibbons gave Bay the upper hand by ripping through the Cleveland batting. David took five for 35 and Noel four for 65. Flatts beat Cleveland in the final that year and went on to become the first winners of the inaugural Champion of Champions competition.Flatts’ total of 63 against Bay in 1996 is the lowest total in the Counties in the last 36 years. Bay and St. David’s both had 29 wins in that period going into Saturday’s match which saw St. David’s claim a 30th win. But Outerbridge promised Bay would be back next year, more focused and more determined.“Nobody performed to their ability and we lost the plot,” said Outerbridge of Saturday’s sobering defeat. “To score 89 tells you that nobody put their hand up and was held accountable for the team’s performance.“At the end of the day we deserved to get bowled out for 89, but that doesn’t show the quality of my team. We’ll learn from it and move on. Obviously we were looking for a stand after lunch, and we would have taken 120 on that wicket. When you get bowled out for 89 you can’t make excuses.”Outerbridge has been offering apologies to the Bay fans for his team’s performance. “A lot of people have asked me what happened and I told them already that once I find out I’ll let them know because I can’t say,” he explained.“I’m totally happy with what my team’s been giving me, they fought to the end even though we only had 89 which shows the character of the team. Just like the stock market that crashes, it always seems to rebound and I’m sure that will happen.“This is a time for the team and the management to get back on track as far as our junior programme and things we do around the club. At the end of the day our success is just the end product. We’ll come back next year a lot stronger.”