CITY of York Hockey Club captain Mark Moisley is set to lose "thousands of pounds" following the cancellation of the Australian Rugby League tour to Britain.

Moisley, through his Escrick-based business, I Was There Ltd, had the contract to produce the official merchandise for the Ashes series.

But the decision by the Australians not to travel in the wake of the military strikes on Afghanistan has left Moisley with boxes of polo shirts and caps with the Ashes branding.

He said: "I'm absolutely gutted - this was pretty much our biggest order.

"We did the Challenge Cup for the Rugby Football League, but with the Ashes being a three-match series we were hoping to do really well from it.

"The cost is going to run into thousands of pound. We we've already got a considerable amount of the stock here."

The polo shirts and caps all have 'Rugby League's Battle For The Ashes 2001 - Great Britain v Australia' embroidered onto them, meaning they cannot even be sold if the Ashes is rearranged for next year.

And with talk of there being a Tri-Nations series replacing the Ashes, Moisley has been left seriously out of pocket.

"Up to yesterday it was all going ahead, but then the RFL phoned this morning to say it was off," added Moisley. "Given that it has been called off so close to the event itself is really frustrating."

The RFL are looking at the alternatives open to them to fill the gap by cancellation.

One option is for the British squad to travel to Australia and take on the Kangaroos in their own backyard, while New Zealand and Papua New Guinea are both thought to have been approached to travel to England at short notice.

Both options have the potential of helping Moisley, although neither will fully compensate the loss of the Ashes in this country.

"If Great Britain go to Australia it would depend on the vending rights out there whether we could still sell our merchandise at the stadiums out there," he said.

"If the RFL can arrange something with the Australian RFL then we might be able to sell it.

"If New Zealand come over, I see no reason why we wouldn't be asked to supply the merchandise - we have done a few things for the RFL now and they like our 'I Was There' branding."

While Moisley has suffered financially, a number of junior players from the area have missed out on their big chance to play in the curtain-raiser to the first Test.

The North Yorkshire service area team had been training hard for their big day on November 3 at the McAlpine Stadium, Huddersfield. But with the tour being cancelled, their chance to impress on the big stage has gone.

Updated: 12:07 Thursday, October 11, 2001