English county team Derbyshire closed out their six-match tour yesterday the same way it began 10 days ago -- with a rain-affected match at Somerset -- as yesterday's contest against Western Stars finished in a draw after the Bermuda champions failed to bat the required 20 overs for a result.

That the match even restarted after a 3.43 rain stoppage will be surprising to the many spectators who left the ground having thought they had seen the last delivery of the tour. The covers stayed on the wicket for more than an hour but at 5.15 the match did resume in fading light as the Stars target was now reduced to 153 in 27 overs, 10 of which had been bowled before they went off at 26-2.

Even the new target was a daunting one for the league champions who were asked to score a further 128 runs in 17 overs, which worked out to be at an average of 7.52 per over.

Upon resumption Dexter Smith and Arnold Manders were noticeably more aggressive with Manders hitting a couple of sixes off Allan Warner and Dominic Cork as he and Smith added 36 in quick time before Manders was run out for 19 after going for a quick single and being sent back, as Cork's direct throw beat him at the bowler's end.

Smith and new partner Jeff Richardson rejected an offer to go off for bad light in the 15th over but three overs later the match was stopped because of poor light with Smith unbeaten on 26 and Richardson six not out.

Earlier Stars suffered two early setbacks when Perry Scott departed in the fifth over when the score was 12 and Gregory Sampson, his opening partner, in the eighth over at 17.

Derbyshire, batting first for the fourth time on the tour, reached their highest total in Bermuda despite losing captain Kim Barnett in the third over of the match with just six runs on the board when he was caught by stand-in wicketkeeper Richardson off the bowling of Allan Brangman.

Tim O'Gorman, opening in the absence of Peter Bowler, steadied things with vice captain John Morris when they added 79 for the second wicket before Morris fell victim to the left arm spin on Wayne Richardson in the 21st over for 33 which contained six fours.

After keeping the scoring at 5.33 after 30 overs with Chris Adams, O'Gorman was next to go in the 32nd over for 60 when the score was 164. His departure signalled a mini-collapse as Adams departed in the next over and then Frank Griffith was run out for two after a bad mix-up with Cork allowed a delayed throw from extra covers by Gary Brangman to beat him at the batsman's end.

O'Gorman hit six fours and a six during his 112 minutes at the crease while Adams took just 42 minutes for his 60 which came from seven fours and three sixes.

Allrounder Cork helped get Derbyshire back on track by featuring in two valuable partnerships which rescued them from 178-5 as he added 26 for the sixth wicket with wicketkeeper Karl Krikken and then 41 with Warner for the seventh. Cork scored 27 while Warner stroked five fours in his 39.

Three Western Stars bowlers took two wickets, Allan Brangman with two for 48, captain Gary Brangman with two for 56 and Richardson, who bowled his 10 overs unchanged, finishing with two for 46.

Derbyshire depart for home tomorrow night, and vice captain John Morris termed the tour a success with the team winning five and drawing one, but more importantly getting to practice on grass.

"From our point of view the tour was a great success,'' said Morris. "We came out and worked hard on our game prior to the start of our season which is something we couldn't have done in the UK. We used this for the preparation for our season back home.

"To go into an English season with this kind of preparation it has to be beneficial to us and hopefully we will be ahead of everybody else. That was the objective of the exercise. The cricket was of a good standard and was played competitively.'' The Derbyshire tour party will have today and most of tomorrow to relax before heading back for their season which starts on April 14 with a three day game with Cambridge University. Their first Benson and Hedges match is on April 27 against Gloucestershire.

"Sometimes the first time we've batted in the middle was a first-class game so this was beneficial from a batting point of view and bowling point of view,'' Morris added.

All members of the senior national squad are to attend a training/conditioning session at the Olympic Club this evening at 7 p.m.

THERE IT IS -- This delivery from Roger Leverock beats Derbyshire batsman Chris Adams as Western Stars wicketkeeper Jeff Richardson keeps it in his sight during the final tour match yesterday at Somerset.