ST. DAVID'S have slapped a two-match ban on opening batsman Phillip (Billy Joe) Pitcher for his conduct in the recent derby match with St. George's.

Pitcher, who was missing from last Sunday's encounter with Bailey's Bay which St. David's won comfortably by eight wickets, was involved in a scuffle with St. George's wicketkeeper Sinclair Gibbons after his dismissal.

Pitcher poked his bat at Gibbons after being told to 'get off the field' after he was bowled by Gregg Foggo. It is understood Gibbons was earlier the victim of sledging by some St. David's fielders while he was batting.

While Gibbons escaped a suspension by his club, Pitcher has been dropped for two matches as St. David's acted quickly.

Delby Borden, chairman of cricket at St. David's, said it is his club's policy to act quickly on bad behaviour. He referred two an incident during the 1999 when Clay Smith and Allen Richardson reacted to questionable umpiring decisions by Colin Blades in the match against Southampton Rangers which Rangers won to clinch the league. The club quickly imposed a three-match ban on Smith and a two-match ban on Richardson.

It was all part of a player code of conduct established by St. David's a few years ago.

"We don't tolerate that type of behaviour in our cricket programme," Borden assured. He said Pitcher came up before the disciplinary committee while he was away on business so he did not know the outcome until he returned.

Borden acknowledges a strong rivalry exists between the two clubs, with St. David's having four former St. George's players playing for them, and while he does not condone the behaviour of the players, he did say that the incident blew over very quickly after the match.

"People blew it out of proportion but they (the players) were talking after the game," said Borden who was at the match.

"They were also sledging Glenn Blakeney and I don't like to see that go on. As cricket chairman if any matter gets out of hand I believe in discipline. St. David's take action right away when something like this happens. We jumped on it right away and had a meeting the next day. Unfortunately I had to leave the Island on business but it was straightened up and finish before I got back."

Pitcher will also miss Sunday's match against Flatts, but there is so much depth in the team he was hardly missed against Bay as Glenn Blakeney scored 42 against his former team.

Wendell Smith was called on to play in Pitcher's absence and responded with a knock of 38 before retiring hurt.

The absence of Landro Minors and the loss of Chris Foggo and OJ Pitcher to a season in England, has enabled another St. David's youngster to come to the fore. Delyone Borden, the 16-year-old son of Delby Borden, has been promoted up the batting order this season and hasn't disappointed, scoring 39 not out and 28 not out in the two recent wins over St. George's and Bailey's Bay. Before that he scored 23 not out in the loss to Rangers.

Veteran Smith, who batted with Borden for a while before going off with a thigh injury, sees a good player in the making. "His style is similar to Chanderpaul or Larry Gomes, he has a good temperament for a youngster. He approaches batting methodically," Smith says of the young left-hander who up until now hasn't had many batting opportunities in such a strong St. David's batting lineup.

Western Stars, St. David's and Southampton Rangers should continue their winning ways when they meet the three teams likely to be involved in the relegation fight.

Stars, still unbeaten after four matches, are at home to Cleveland as Stars' opener Jermaine Posthethwaite meets his old teammates. Defending champions St. David's should prove too strong for St. David's at Sea Breeze Oval while Rangers travel to Somerset for a meeting with a team capable of pulling off an upset.

Somerset look the more likely of the three to avoid the drop and have already beaten both Flatts and Cleveland. In fact, they are presently ahead of Bailey's Bay who have managed just one win in their opening four matches.

Bay travel to Wellington Oval to meet a St. George's team coming off two straight losses. St. George's pulled off victory against Rangers recently and put up a fight against Stars last weekend before their target of 262 eventually proved too steep for them.

Victory for St. George's over Bay would no doubt strengthen their bid for a fourth place finish and a Camel Cup spot for next season. But they don't look strong enough to mount a serious title challenge.

Already the indications are it will be a three team race for the championship - Stars, St. David's and Rangers - followed by St. George's, Bay and Somerset in the middle order (though not necessarily in that order) and Cleveland and Flatts at the bottom.

That's the most likely scenario for the 2002 league season after just four matches, which sees Stars leading the pack with a perfect record, followed by defending champions St. David's and Southampton Rangers with three wins each.

With Police losing their last two matches, Willow Cuts have emerged as the favourites for promotion from the First Division, with youthful Warwick making a strong push to join them. the two teams come head-to-head on Sunday at Southampton Oval in the division's top match, while Police should return to winning ways against Social Club at Police Field. Devonshire Rec. meet PHC in what could be an evenly contested match at Devonshire Rec.

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Commercial League results:

(42 overs per side)

At Police Field: Leg Trappers (10 pts) beat Police Recreation Club (0 pts) by 75 runs. Leg Trappers 140 in 41.5 overs (G.Knight 42, G.Strange 25, C.Fleming 21; R.Goonewardene 5-37, J.Walters 3-34, I.Simpson 2-36), Police Recreation Club 65 in 26.4 overs (E.Thornton 20; J.Swan 4-14, G.Strange 3-13, M.Wetherhill 2-17).

At Lord's: Forties (10 pts) beat St. David's (0 pts) by seven wickets. St. David's 103 in 22.1 overs (R.Pitcher 61; B.Holdipp 5-39, G.Campbell 2-20, D.Jarrett 2-30), Forties 107-3 in 16.2 overs (H.Minors 64 not out, G.Campbell 23; A.Pitcher 2-10).

At Shelly Bay: Jamaican Association (10 pts) beat Devonshire Stars (0 pts) by 104 runs. Jamaican Association 140 in 38.4 overs (C.Daley 31, J.Lindo 27; W.Bean 4-37, D.Smith 4-53), Devonshire Stars 36 in 18.2 overs (G.Brown 4-9, J.Lindo 3-19, I.Coke 2-1).

Sunday's fixtures: Devonshire Stars v Forties, Garrison Field; Police Recreation Club v West Indian Association, Shelly Bay; St. David's v North Village, Lord's. Byes: Jamaican Association and Leg Trappers. Games start at 12.30 p.m.