suspension of veteran batsman Richard Basden for five matches.

Basden, who sat out the Classic two years ago in Somerset when the west enders beat St. George's, was slapped with the ban by the Bermuda Cricket Board of Control for his conduct against umpire Jeff Pitcher in match two weeks ago.

BCBC Disciplinary Committee chairman Gladstone Brown, confirmed yesterday that Basden will have to miss the next five matches, including Saturday's final Cup Match trial and Cup Match next week. It is understood Basden has lodged an appeal against the ban.

"That's what I was told today,'' said Brown yesterday, who was in the process of checking to see whether the appeal would clear Basden to play in Cup Match.

Brown said an independent body would hear the appeal, though it is not known if that would take place before next weekend's classic.

Basden, a veteran of 11 Cup Match appearances since making his debut in 1985, was charged with swearing at umpire Pitcher.

Brown said bad behaviour towards officials will not be tolerated by the board.

"We would want to get the guys to understand that they (umpires) are out there doing a job and let's play the game in the spirit that it was intended,'' he said.

"I believe Richard has a lot to offer cricket and I would call this a hiccup in his career.'' The ban means Somerset have one less player available to them. With Andre Manders now retired, the west enders have lost their two longest serving players, who between them have made 26 appearances. Also ruled out is the banned Corey Hill, injured Kevin Fubler and wicketkeeper Roger Trott, who has not played this season.

Still, Somerset's chances of winning remain high, according to chairman of their selection committee Shaun Roberts. But his confidence might not be shared by the west end club's fans as they are forced to make at least five changes from last year's team.

"To the Somerset supporters out there I would say there is no cause for alarm. We are scrutinising the players that we have challenging for places very closely, we have to look at everybody,'' said Roberts.

"I would go as far to say that we are confident that we will have a very good team in the end. If I was a betting man I would bet on Somerset all the way.'' There has been little news from the Somerset camp on the club's preparation, prompting concern about who will be in the final line-up.

But Roberts insisted he and his committee had a firm grip on the selection process and the team was shaping up well.

A ban on Basden would a blow to the team's batting as he has an impressive Cup Match record, having scored a total of 474 runs in 18 innings which places him 26th among the all-time top scorers in the event.

Despite the loss of Hurdle, Roberts believes there's still some stiff competition among those challenging for fast bowling places. He points to Garry Williams of Southampton, Charles Swan of Willow Cuts, Mark Trott of Western Stars, Denzil Dill of Somerset Bridge and club player Tacoma Robinson.

In the spin bowling department, he also sees an abundance of talent. Among those who will merit consideration are Hasan Durham, Del Hollis, Kevin Fubler, Dwayne Leverock and Sidney Simmons.

If anything, Somerset's batting could provide the biggest headache for selectors, although the return to form of Albert Steede in recent weeks will be seen as a welcome boost.

"It seems that the early order batsmen are finding their form, especially players like openers Albert Steede and Dexter Basden,'' said Roberts.

Others who the west enders will be looking at are Kwame Tucker of Southampton, who is a contender for the wicketkeeping duties, Irving Romaine of Bailey's Bay and allrounder Janeiro Tucker of Southampton, who missed last year because of injury.

Adrian King has pulled out of Saturday's Cup Match trial at St. George's because of the death of his mother in St. Vincent.