PHC's new cricket captain Kyle Lightbourne still wonders what might have been had he enjoyed claiming wickets as much as he loved scoring goals.

Had Lightbourne allowed his head to rule his heart, then he could have very well ended up carving out a career in English County Cricket as a rangy left-arm swing bowler instead of becoming a professional footballer.

Although the beautiful game was his first love, Lightbourne insists he was blessed with greater natural cricketing gifts and was offered trials at Warwickshire and Durham after touring Australia with an ICC Associate nation team in 1988.

Although he harbours no regrets about the sporting path he chose, the ex-Walsall and Stoke striker does wish he could deliver the ball with as venom as he did as an 18-year-old when he famously captured the prize wicket of future England skipper, Michael Atherton.

"I bowl a lot slower these days, but I can still open the bowling if needed," said Lightbourne.

"I wouldn't say I loved cricket more than football, but I was probably more gifted as a cricketer to be truthfully honest.

"It would have been nice to see what could have happened, I had opportunities to play in England at Warwickshire and Durham but I always wanted to play football.

"I was selected for an ICC Associate nations team for a tour of Australia and played against Brian Lara, Michael Atherton, Nasser Hussain, Mark Ramprakash, I think Sachin Tendulkar was there as well."

On Saturday, Lightbourne will lead PHC against St. David's in a David versus Goliath clash in the semi-finals of the Belco Cup at Somerset Cricket Club.

The ex-Somerset Cup Match player is under no illusions of the tough task ahead considering the Belco Cup is one of few trophies to have eluded St. David's in recent years.

"St. David's will want to get their hands on this trophy as they have not won it for a while, it's a very tough start for us," Lightbourne said. "But there's no pressure on us and we can just go out there and enjoy the day because no one wants to be beaten by PHC at cricket."

The men from Warwick may be more renowned for their prowess on the football field but Lightbourne is confident their cricket side can build on last season's fourth-place finish in the Premier Division.

"They asked me to skipper the team this season, it's something I've done previously for them about three years ago before we started the Bermuda Hogges," he said.

"I played last season without much preparation but I've been in the nets in pre-season and I'm looking forward to being involved from the start.

"Last season went well, I think it was our highest ever finish. Hopefully we can improve on that this season.

"We have youngster Kamual Leverock, Jason Anderson, Fiqre Crockwell, Hasan Durham, Chic Adams, Ricardo Brangman as well as Dean Stephens, so we're hoping to do well."