CORNWALL’S cricketers face a return trip to Hertfordshire after Sunday’s Unicorns Trophy semi final at Harpenden was washed out without a ball bowled, writes Michael Weeks.

The forecast heavy rain duly arrived around 9.30am, before the scheduled start of play at 11am.

Regulations allowed for a ten over match, starting as late as 6.10pm, but the ground was saturated and water had got under the covers.

With more rain forecast for the afternoon common sense prevailed with the match called the match off shortly after 1pm.

A return trip to Harpenden on August 9 now awaits the Duchy, which will come during the middle of a fixture pile-up for the players.

The Cornwall Cricket League has announced the Premier League games on August 8, which had been rescheduled from Saturday, will go ahead.

However, they are recommending games involving Cornwall players are mutually agreed by clubs to start at 11am, or earlier if possible.

In a statement, the league said: "With the agreement of the county team manager Godfrey Furse there is, unfortunately, no option but for the Premier League programme to go ahead as scheduled on August 8.

"Cornwall now have away games on August 2, 9 and 16.

"There is already a double Premier League weekend arranged on Sunday 23rd August.

"The League will not be asking clubs to play on Sunday 30th August, which would mean three games in three days over the August Bank Holiday weekend."

The Premier 50/50 Cup arrangements will go ahead as planned with the outstanding semi final between St Just and Grampound Road on August 9 and the winners to play Werrington, at a venue to be announced, on September 6.