veterans, Warwick enter today's Western Counties second round fixture with their eyes firmly set on wresting the title from holders PHC (Southampton Oval, 10 a.m.).

Coach Allan Douglas has elected to go with five teenage colts, emphasising the renaissance period Warwick are embarking upon as they look to groom for the near future in hopes of a return to the glory days.

Warwick actually won the cup a scant three years ago, dethroning Somerset Bridge in the first round of the 1997 competition, but their reign lasted a matter of two weeks before they were toppled by Southampton Rangers.

Douglas has a simple plan going into the match, one which he hopes his youthful brigade will adhere to.

"We want to try and keep the game as simple as possible, which should put pressure on PHC,'' said Douglas, who left his beloved Cleveland to take over the coaching reins at Warwick. "I've stressed to our bowlers that they bowl at the stumps and let them make mistakes .

"And you will see some aggressive fielding, the guys are young and like to run around. We've been working a lot with our fielding and I think that may make the difference.'' In the likes of the evergreen Hoyt Zuill, together with teenage speedsters Dion Stovell and Jason Williams, Warwick have the attack to trouble PHC, a side that have not exactly lit the Premier League afire with their batting...but then, neither have Warwick, making the contest all the more intriguing.

Captain Lucky Pitcher comes off a six-wicket haul against Flatts and will once again have to carry the slow-bowling load, while guest player Mark Ray, Daniel Morgan and Daniel Caines will shoulder the batting responsibility.

"We have a lot of young guys that are full of fire and love to play,'' continued Douglas. "Some of the young guys have international soccer experience which should help them with their composure.

"But we also have guys with experience to guide them through, with Hoyt Zuill and Lucky Pitcher there. Beaver Ray is solid in all departments and should help us both batting and bowling.'' Tomorrow sees some hot contests in the Premier Knock-Out quarter-finals, with the headliner being St. George's hosting Western Stars at Wellington Oval.

The East Enders will no doubt be seeking revenge against a Stars outfit who handed them a 77-run pasting at the same ground early in the season.

Moreover, Stars have so far seized all silverware available, the Central Counties and Camel Cup and are locks for the league title despite having three fixtures left to play.

Another interesting affair sees Somerset entertaining Cleveland in one that could go either way, while Southampton tackle PHC and Bailey's Bay meet lowly Social Club at home.

There will be plenty of activity for the non-cricket fan at today's Western Counties game, with organisers determined to raise the level of interest to match that of their eastern counterparts.

The afternoon will witness everything from a bowling competition to majorette performances, with gate prizes sprinkled into the mix as well. And this after the first round revealed the teams displaying coloured jerseys and equipment used for international one-day cricket.

"We're doing a lot of things to drum up interest in the competition,'' said Western Counties vice-president Keith Wainwright. "I have to give credit to our treasurer, Hoyt Zuill, for coming up with several ideas to add spice to the competition.

"We're appealing to the public to come out and support the Western Counties and enjoy the atmosphere. And even if they don't want to watch the game all day we're right next to Horseshoe Beach...go to the beach, take a swim, cool off and come back.''