ANOTHER three weeks of inactivity has further swelled the profits at the Woodlands Hotel as the big man in the sky has chosen to send more water than we could possible ever need although there will probably still be a hose-pipe ban in July.

Saturday's ritual was repeated again this week where almost every pitch was unplayable yet all teams and referees are subjected to a fruitless journey down to Pleasington only to be told "Sorry lads, it's off." As we all depart thinking "Can't believe they've called that off even though there's a lake on the pitch" the idea that a Saturday lunchtime inspection performed by a League official springs to mind as a plan for the future. Even the much maligned Sunday Memorial League has such a system which seemed to work 10 years ago and probably still does.

With 12 games still to complete, we will no doubt have to endure three games a week during April which has been a feature of recent seasons.

Perhaps the time has come for an earlier start with more midweek fixtures.

Although the council will probably argue that the cricket season would still be open, surely they could find a way to have just a few pitches at Pleasington available from the middle of August.

Then, our overworked Fixtures Secretary Jim Howarth, could squeeze in some games, every night of the week if he has to, to save the pitches being hammered during April when they are played on by various leagues and competitions almost every day.

With some discussion between everyone concerned I'm sure an improvement could be found to the current predicament all our local leagues are suffering with their fixtures.

After all, is cricket really a sport?