The issue of whether Sunday's rain-affected Knockout Cup final should have been played continued to smoulder yesterday, with outspoken allrounder Noel Gibbons of losing finalists Bailey's Bay joining the chorus of those who thought it should have been abandoned and rescheduled.

Gibbons, while stating that he "didn't want to step on anybody's toes'', nevertheless could not remain silent and had harsh words for game officials involved in allowing players to perform under treacherous conditions.

Numerous rain interruptions resulted in a sodden outfield and the fixture being reduced to a 20 overs affair, which St. George's won by two wickets after tail-ender Sinclair Gibbons stroked the winning single from the last ball.

It was later revealed by senior umpire George Francis that the reason for going on with play was that there were no alternative dates available for a replay.

However, Gibbons disputed that claim and also questioned the officials' apparent lack of concern for player safety.

"They -- umpires and Bermuda Cricket Board of Control (BCBC) members -- said that there was no room for a replay. What if it would have rained all day? What would happen then?'' said Gibbons, who praised St. George's Graham Fox for his comments since Fox also questioned the intelligence of those opting to persevere with the match.

"The game could have been played Sunday coming. Even though the Western Counties is going on, neither Bay nor St. George's are involved.

"But back to Sunday gone. After raining for four hours steady the pitch was definitely unfit for players, especially the bowlers' run ups.

"Furthermore, I feel that safety (of the players) was never even thought of.

What's the sense of risking someone's health because they say they have no alternate date?'' As for the final result Gibbons had no qualms about his side being beaten, however he did express concern about matters of discipline -- or lack of it -- in the game today and used what he described as a 10 to 15 minute "mini-riot'' during Sunday's match to highlight the dilemma.

Several fans reportedly entered the playing area after they thought St.

George's' vice captain Ricky Hodsoll had scored the winning run, but after seeing senior umpire George Francis raise his finger signalling the former's dismissal, joyful cheers turned to howls of protest.

Gibbons, who also plays for Buckhurst of the Essex League in England, asserted that several Bay players were forced into the role of security guards in order to protect the umpires from physical attacks.

"In all my years of playing I have never seen anything like what went on on Sunday and my fear is that it will all be swept away under the carpet,'' he said. "There is a lot of abuse going on in cricket today and something needs to be done to identify the problem.

"I know what it is and most of the Island knows, but there's a lot of people involved in cricket who won't speak out because they're part of the problem and I think things will get worse before they get better because of there being so many unanswered questions.

"There's a lot of confused cricketers out there...'' Asked if he was suggesting the local standard of umpiring to be at the root of the problem Gibbons laughed, but added: "I speak because I'm really concerned with the state of cricket in Bermuda. Cricket is my life and I'm very much concerned about the present progress of the sport and the future that lies ahead.'' NOEL GIBBONS -- "The pitch was...unfit for players.''