Perhaps the worst blow to St. David's chances of regaining the Eastern Counties championship on Saturday did not even take place on the field.

The challengers, who failed to capture the last three Bailey's Bay wickets to wrest the title they lost in 2002, were dealt a crushing setback just before the game began when the Eastern Counties Cricket Association (ECCA) informed them that fast bowler Jacobi Robinson was ineligible to play.

At question was the guest player's claim of having been resident in St. David's for at least two years ? an eligibility requirement.

Both Robinson, who said he had lived in that area for three or four years with his father, and St. David's skipper Clay Smith expressed shock and dismay at the ruling and the manner in which the matter was handled. It was particularly puzzling since Robinson represented the club in the Counties competition last year.

"I thought Eastern Counties had done their homework on it last year but they said this year I'm not eligible," declared the young pacer watching his team fight back from the early loss of five wickets for 12 runs.

"It's a big-day match and they had ample time to do what they had to do and coming to us half-hour before the game, I don't think that's professional.

"We had our hopes up high but as you could see St. David's weren't focused on the game. They were focused on what happened before the game."

Regarding the issue of being resident in St. David's, he explained that, some years ago, while his mother was overseas he was under his father Wayne Richardson's care and the latter lived in St. David's.

He said his father submitted a letter to this effect to the ECCA a month ago and noted the ECCA never contacted them or the club to query his eligibility before.

Smith revealed that the ECCA tried to bar both Robinson and wicket-keeper Dean Minors from the game but St. David's were able to prove Minors' case. However, they were threatened with having to forfeit the match if Robinson played.

This late development, the captain stressed, upset their bowling plans though they still fielded a strong team with Shannon Raynor coming in for Robinson.

"It upset our game plan because you have somebody like Mackie Crane who is another quickie that we could have brought into the team and we weren't able to do so because he is nowhere to be found because he didn't expect to play today," he said.

"From a technical perspective, it's put a dent in our team."

Asking what other proof the ECCA wanted to verify Robinson's status, he blasted the tournament's governing body for waiting until "not even the 11th hour, but the 12th hour, to say he is unavailable".