As for who was available and prepared to come - only Mr. J Cook knows the answers.
He told the fans after heat 4 of the Swindon meeting that he had plans to cover AJ depending on the opposition in the semi finals, and all would be revealed the following Monday. Subsequently, a mystery Polish rider had been spoken to ... but this was shelved because AJ had made a rapid recovery and could well be available for the 2nd leg at Belle Vue. Apparently, if the mystery Polish rider rode in the first leg we would have hd to ride him in the second leg!
You couldn't make it up ... but Mr Cook can .. and he has.
I meant to type after heat 14 not 4 !