DAVID HEMP turned his arm over for the first time in one-day cricket for Warwickshire at Lakenham yesterday and captured four wickets with his seamers. He batted well too, but the Norwich public had come to see another left-hander - Brian Lara.

Any opportunity to see the best players in this corner need to be grasped because the future of Lakenham's evocative ground - with its grandiose white-washed thatched pavilion and bricked veranda, built by the Colman mustard family in the Thirties - is in serious doubt.

With no weekend games now played there, Lakenham is up for sale with the adjoining tennis balloons and leisure centre at a price of £2 million. Yesterday's chilled crowd of about 500 began to rustle with anxiety when it became apparent Lara would be batting down the order, with Warwickshire facing an undemanding total.

Lara had lost his car keys at the team's hotel in the morning, and Warwickshire had to ferry a replacement set by courier from Birmingham to allow the West Indies captain to retrieve his playing gear.

Ashley Giles, batting ahead of Lara, did not delay the great man's entry very long before he was held at second slip. Lara ricked his knee running before launching himself into a couple of memorable strokes in his unbeaten 30.

Andrew Jones, a teacher at Monmouth School, held the Minors' innings together, assisted by a last-wicket stand of 41 between Marcus Sharp and Jonathan Fielding.