Atherstone Cricket Club's SOS call has been well and truly answered by veteran all-rounder Noel Gibbons.

With the team hovering at the bottom of the Warwickshire League in England Gibbons, who was the full-time player-coach with them last year but had prepared to spend the year in Bermuda with Bailey's Bay as one of their coaches, decided to help rescue the club.

In four weeks they have made vast improvements, moving out of the cellar and into 13th place in the 18-team league and they are confident of even further success in the near future.

Gibbons is not the only Bermudian at the club as St. George's medium-pacer and right-hand batsman Ryan Steede returned there in May to begin a second term.

A third Bermudian, professional soccer player Kyle Lightbourne, who has a cricket background as a former Somerset Cup Match player, has recently become a member, and while not being able to make any significant contribution to their success to date he has managed to play one game.

"The team is making good strides and it's nice to see them get off the bottom of the table. I don't know how well we will do at the end of the day, but the important thing is for us to continue to play better," said Gibbons, the former Bailey's Bay and Bermuda international.

He added: "Ryan is making a good contribution. He is doing well with the ball but his batting hasn't been too good. It's also good to see Kyle deciding to join our ranks. Perhaps he will get in a few more games but that will depend on his career in soccer."

Gibbons himself has had a few solid knocks, scoring 91 on one occasion and reaching the 60s on two other occasions.

However, the player is concerned that some at Sea Breeze Oval feel that he has turned his back on the local club after making a commitment to be involved with them for the entire season.

"I didn't want to come back to England, I wanted to commit all my time to Bay but when I got the call from Atherstone and heard about their plight I felt obligated to come and help them," he said. "I don't know how long I will be here, we shall see.

"If it wasn't for that emergency call I would be at home assisting Bay in one way or the other because my heart is with them. I was happy to hear that they did well in the opening round of the Eastern Counties. I hope they go all the way and win the final but more importantly I want to see them win the First Division and return to the Premier Division where they belong."

"I hope they remain focused," he added. "From the first game of the season I told them to get their act together and strive always to avoid playing back-yard cricket. There are too many good players in the team for them to resort to that."