SHEFFIELD'S Premier Trophy match at Berwick will be re-staged next month after Saturday's clash was abandoned when curfew time was reached.


The lengthy delay to proceedings came due to a crash involving Tigers' Ritchie Hawkins, who came to grief on the third lap in the first attempt to run Heat 12.

Hawkins was suffering from wrist and arm injuries, and a great deal of work was required by the paramedics before he could be transferred to the county ambulance and taken to hospital.

Until that stage, Tigers had looked capable of pulling off an away win with skipper Ricky Ashworth in terrific form, scoring nine points out of nine.

And Josh Auty was again proving to be a potent reserve, combining with Richard Hall for a 5-1 in Heat 9 which put the visitors into a four-point lead.

The Bandits levelled as Hawkins fell in Heat 10, but Ashworth and Paul Cooper edged Sheffield back in front with a 4-2 in Heat 11 - and with in-form riders covering the remaining races, they may well have been able to hold on.

However, the events of Heat 12 forced a premature halt to be called, and the meeting will now be re-staged on June 13 - the date initially scheduled for Tigers' Premier League visit to the Border venue.

BERWICK 32: Michal Makovsky 10, Tero Aarnio 9, Paul Clews 5+3, Michal Rajkowski 5, William Lawson 3, Greg Blair 0, Josef Franc r/r.

SHEFFIELD 34: Ricky Ashworth 9, Josh Auty 8, Richard Hall 6+2, Joel Parsons 4, Paul Cooper 4, Chris Mills 2+1, Ritchie Hawkins 1+1.