and George Francis received some sort of compensation from the abandoned first Test in Jamaica recently when they returned home with a stump from the game.

As is customary, most of the stumps were grabbed by onrushing souvenir seekers once the match officially ended, but one alert groundsman managed to beat the invaders to a stump which was later handed to to the visiting Bermudians.

"Naturally we are going to treasure it since it is part of history,'' said Butler yesterday.

Both Butler and Francis knew the groundsman and it was because of that friendship that the Jamaican handed over the stump.

The pair yesterday recalled the episode as they sat reflecting on the circumstances that led to the abandonment.

"The match was over and we were sitting in the Kingston Cricket Club pavilion and noticed one of the groundsmen coming off with it. We asked if we could have it and, to our delight, he agreed,'' said Butler.

"We thought this was a history-making item since it was a stump from the first Test match ever abandoned because of a dangerous wicket.'' Like many others who visited Jamaica, Butler wasn't happy about the decision to abandon the match. He said the wicket at Sabina Park had a reputation for being bouncy on the first day -- something that West Indies batsmen had experienced in past Tests -- and reckoned that it wasn't so dangerous as to warrant abandonment.

"You can tell by the way the ball bounced that it was hard, but at times I think the English batsmen were over-reacting when the ball came up sharply, especially when they were on the back foot and struck on the forearm,'' said Butler.

Although the Bermuda umpires didn't wear their official jackets at the match, they were proud to arrive in Jamaica with their new badges which indicated that they were fully qualified West Indies Cricket Umpires Association officials.

The badges were handed out at the WICUA's biennial cricket conference in Trinidad and Tobago last year and this marked the first occasion that the two Bermudians had worn them in public.

COLLECTOR'S ITEM -- Local umpires George Francis and Randy Butler with a stump they retrieved from the abandoned history-making Test in Jamaica.