One of the three men accused of trying to murder a man at Wellington Oval told a jury: ?I did not attempt to harm him in any way.?

Ki-Roy Kinta Butterfield said he raced onto the pitch after violence flared at St. George?s Cricket Club out of concern for his seriously injured brother.

The defendant ? who took to the stand yesterday as the high profile retrial entered its fourth week ? said he feared his relative was dead after being hit on the head by a wooden board.

Butterfield told the court he heard a ?devastating? crack and saw relative, Ki-Won Butterfield, on the ground.

?I went into panic,? said the Ord Road defendant, one of three men who denies attempted murder when a Friendship Trophy final was abandoned as gangs of young thugs set upon each other with machetes and knifes.

He added: ?I did not expect to see such a thing. He looked basically dead.?

Butterfield, 27, of Cherry Hill Park, Paget; Jahcai Morris, 24, of Sylvan Dell, Paget, and Tahir Nesta Bascome, 22, of Dunscombe Road, Warwick, all deny attempting to murder Tarik Foster at the soccer final at St. George?s stadium on April 4, 2004.

The trio also pleaded not guilty to a charge of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm against Mr. Foster.

Earlier, Butterfield told how he had played for Paget Lions in the first final at Wellington Oval last April. Trouble flared during the second game of the day, between Somerset Eagles and North Village. Butterfield said after his game he got changed and joined his family at the ground, including his young son.

He then went to socialise with friends and was chatting with a workmate when a ?scuffle? broke out between two or three people, before spilling onto the pitch within a matter of seconds.

It was then, the court was told, Butterfield heard the ?crack? and saw his brother grounded.

When he spotted a man, Everest Trott, standing over his brother with a 2x4 ? about six feet long ? the defendant said he looked for something to pick up.

He said he found a knife and ran onto the field, getting into a ?stand-off? with the man brandishing the wooden board. ?I really wanted to get to my brother. I was very agitated.?

Butterfield said when he got to his relative he spotted blood coming out of one of his ears and a bystander warned not to move him.

The court later heard that Ki-Won Butterfield was taken to hospital with a blood clot to his head.

The defendant said he and a couple of men eventually managed to disarm the man with the 2x4.

The next morning, Butterfield said he spotted a picture of himself in the newspaper coverage of the Wellington Oval violence and after taking legal advice, went to the Police station.

Elizabeth Christopher, for Butterfield, asked her client: ?Did you at any time attempt to cause injury to Everest Trott??

Butterfield replied: ?No... I was disarming him.?

The lawyer added: ?Did you ever attempt to kill Tarik Foster?? Butterfield: ?No.?

Miss Christopher: ?Did you attempt to harm him in any way?? Butterfield: ?No.?

Under cross-examination from Senior Crown counsel Carrington Mahoney, Butterfield said he could not say who was involved in the scuffle.

Butterfield has also pleaded not guilty to a charge of attempted wounding with intent to cause GBH against Mr. Trott, possessing an offensive weapon and being armed in public to cause terror. Morris and Bascome have both denied possessing an offensive weapon and being armed in public to cause terror. The trial continues.