With youngster Mathew Lee receiving a bloody nose and as many as eight other players similarly struck by rising deliveries, the playing pitch at White Hill Field has come under severe criticism.

Veteran PHC player-coach Andre Manders said this week that the conditions were "terrible" on Sunday during his team's Premier Division game against St. George's, claiming that the two teams only decided to go ahead with the match because games were not being rescheduled this season.

Had that not been the case, he said PHC skipper Cal Waldron and St. George's skipper Charlie Marshall would have likely decided against playing as playing conditions simply were not suitable.

"The wicket was terrible and we guys play on it every week like that," said Manders, whose team use the venue for their home matches this season.

However, Bray Saltus, president of field operators, Somerset Bridge Recreation Club, was caught by surprise by Manders' claim. He said that he personally believed the wicket was playable.

"We had somebody there in the morning preparing the wicket, rolling it and everything, and then players from both teams helped to remove the trash which was left over from the big show held there the previous evening," said Saltus.

"I don't know anything more than that. It was ready for play and it met our satisfaction, I can't say any more."

Manders, however, took an entirely different point of view and was clearly upset after players from both sides had to help to get the wicket in playable shape after arriving. He said they were forced to use a light roller themselves before starting the match.

According to Manders, the club (Somerset Bridge) have no full-time person available to prepare the wicket, nor do they have the use of a heavy roller which compounds the problem.

"However, what is bothering is that instead of calling us and letting us know the situation on Sunday they just marked out the wicket without rolling it and it was impossible for us to play like that," added Manders.

"We had this little hand roller to try to get it ready, players from both teams joining in to do the job. To be honest there is always a problem up there, most of the time we go there we have to say to them `come on you guys' and this is a pity when we hire the field."

He believed that the wicket was often left without covers and the field operators often started to work on it too late, leaving work to be done right up to the day before and even as late as the morning of the game.

While it may have been a surprise for St. George's to see the wicket as it was, the condition was something with which PHC have become familiar this season, according to Manders.

"What they need is a senior groundsman with experience of wickets, maybe somebody like a Sheridan Raynor to assist them," he suggested.

"Sunday was one of the worst we have seen it, it was unprepared, there was nothing done and it wasn't a surprise to see so many players struck with the ball. We managed to stop the bleeding when young Lee was hit, but he didn't return to the wicket until 30 minutes after being hit."

St. George's team official Lewis Foggo, who was the square-leg umpire along with regular official Anthony Fubler, admitted that the wicket wasn't prepared but reckoned that the players themselves should be blamed for being struck.

"Well all I can say is that it wasn't unplayable, but it was in dire condition. While saying that it surely wasn't the worst . . . I have played on worse.

"I don't wan to cry down the wicket. Although there was some uneven bounce, the fact of the matter is that a lot of runs were scored. People got hit because of stupidity while batting, that's my view," said Foggo.