HEREFORDSHIRE will be hoping that Warwickshire, who visit Kingsland for a Twenty20match next Wednesday, will have a little extra silverware to bring with them.

The Midlands county take on Hampshire at Lord's this weekend in the final of the C&G Trophy, one of the showpieces of the English summer.

The home county's chances of coming up against Warwickshire in future C&G competitions seem to have disappeared with the removal of Minor Counties from the entrants' list.

But they will, meanwhile, be able to reflect on a season which has seen some improvement on the disappointment of 2004 which found Herefordshire rooted to the foot of the Western Division table for the first time.

On that occasion, they were the only side in the division not to win a game but rectified that this time around with a comprehensive defeat of Wales at Luctonians.

Wales nonetheless still finished just ahead of Herefordshire who in turn edged out Wiltshire and Dorset to finish in eighth position.

With a limited budget available for players, youngsters have been to the fore again and a number of local cricketers have had their chance.

But top of the success list is another young player who looks to have resurrected his first class career on the back of some fine all-round displays for Herefordshire earlier in the season.

Peter Trego had already had two goes at top-flight cricket with Somerset and Kent, as well as a season in Worcestershire's second Xl, when he linked up with Herefordshire at the start of the campaign.

But an undefeated century in the MCCA Trophy against Shropshire and a five-wicket haul in the quarter-final of the competition against Norfolk, as well as some hard-hitting displays and useful bowling, soon brought him to the attention of Middlesex.

An extended trial with the London county brought further good displays, including a quick-fire 72 on his debut against Glamorgan and 6-59 against Nottinghamshire, and this should see his name added to the list of players whose career has been re-started by a spell with Herefordshire.

Ismail Dawood, Yorkshire's wicket-keeper/batsman, and Steve Adshead, who fills a similar role with Gloucestershire, are both county old boys made good.

Skipper Chris Boroughs enjoyed another excellent season with his 406 runs coming at an average of 58, while Richard Hall and Harshad Patel, who were both restricted to just two matches, also averaged more than 50.

Gulsheraz Ahmed, one of several players from the Yorkshire area recommended to Herefordshire by Dawood, made a promising start to his Minor Counties career by averaging just over 35 with a top score of 131 from his eight innings.

Young local batsmen Henry Langford and Dave Exall, who play their cricket at Brockhampton and Kington respectively, were regular choices in the middle-order and justified the selectors' faith with some steady batting, while Exall's Kington colleague, opener Tom Brierley, has also begun to make an impact.

Another local player, Richard Parker, can be pleased with his season with the ball as his 14 victims made him the leading wicket-taker, while Andy Sutton picked up eight wickets in his two appearances.

But Parker's opening bowling partner at Brockhampton, Mohammad Ali, certainly looks like a man whose signature Herefordshire will be keen to secure for future seasons after picking up 10 wickets in the match on his debut with Wales, followed by an aggressive 70 in the final match against Berkshire.