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An England cricket fan has been sentenced for scrawling racist graffiti on the seats at the Newlands ground in Cape Town.Matthew Weller, 33, from Wolverhampton, will either spent six months in jail, or pay £356 to compensate the Western Province Cricket Association, who maintain the ground. He had pleaded guilty to malicious damage to property. The magistrates’ court in Cape Town heard that he had used black felt-pen to scribble racist slogans and swastikas on 17 seats in the presidential pavilion at Newlands on Monday, the second day of the third Test between South Africa and England.The prosecutor, Catherine Putter, had told the court that the floodlights were turned on at the end of the day – costing the Newlands ground authorities £1000 – so that police could take photographs of the damage. A further £365 was spent on cleaning and staff costs relating to the graffiti.Putter said that the Newlands authorities had banned Weller from the rest of the Cape Town Test, and she had been instructed by them to seek a compensation order against him for the full £1365.At Weller’s first appearance earlier this week, JD Kotze, the presiding magistrate, had ordered that he make a public apology at Newlands while the Test was in progress, but this was rejected by the cricket authorities, as they felt it could “sour the game”.In a letter to them instead, Weller indicated his regret: “I am extremely sorry for any offence caused to the staff and patrons of the ground who may have witnessed the act, or those involved in the cleaning operation,” it read. “I wholly regret my actions, which were totally out of character and promise that I shall never again act in this manner.”Weller was an independent traveller, and not part of the Barmy Army.

Discussions are to take place next Thursday between the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the regional players’ body, after the board answered calls to come to the table in a bid to resolve their latest argument – this time over a players’ training camp.Dinanath Ramnarine, the president of the West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA), invited the board to talks to temper the growing friction between the two bodies, which had been made worse after the board invited 25 players to attend the camp ahead of the tour of Australia in 2005 without first consulting WIPA.Following the snub, the WIPA had asked the players not to sign the letters of invitation as Ramnarine said the players could be left open to commercial exploitation in some cases. “It is to be noted that some of the conditions stipulated by the WICB have nothing to do with cricket,” he said, “but represent an attempt to exploit the players for commercial purposes.”The board, meanwhile, issued a press release expressing their disappointment at the developments. “The West Indies Cricket Board is disappointed at the reported instruction issued to its members by the West Indies Players Association not to sign letters of invitation,” it said.But Ramnarine hopes that the talks will bring the matter to a head. “[The WIPA] calls on the board to return to the bargaining table in order that the parties can achieve a mutually satisfactory resolution of the issues involved,” he said.This is not the first time that the two bodies have clashed. In March 2003, the players answered their unions’ call to strike over the allocation of sponsorship money. The regional first-class semi-finals were put on hold until a solution was agreed. The WIPA has also twice threatened strikes over pay in the last three years.

After an unusual beginning – the Test being delayed by a couple of hours by dew, and Sourav Ganguly winning the toss – the first day followed the expected script. Bangladesh folded within two sessions, a familiar late-order resistance following a familiar early collapse; a record was claimed; a personal best was achieved; and an early finish loomed.Anil Kumble will claim the headlines in tomorrow’s papers, but the day belonged to two young men. Irfan Pathan made Sourav Ganguly’s decision to bowl first – a 50-50 one considering India’s batting strength – pay off, and Mohammad Ashraful displayed composure and a straight bat to show his team-mates that despite the early moisture and skilful bowling by the Indian pace bowlers, batting wasn’t as hazardous as most of the top order made it appear.Batting has been the bigger worry for Bangladesh in Test cricket, and their performance today made it apparent why. Five of their batsmen fell to leg-before decisions, four of them to one bowler in almost identical fashion, planting the front foot forward and groping around with the bat. Javed Omar, the first to fall, refused to learn from a mistake committed only four balls earlier, by offering no shot for the second time to Irfan Pathan, who was swinging the ball only one way – back in to the right-handers.Ashraful, who scored a century on his debut and shared the Man-of-the-Match award with Muttiah Muralitharan, has tended to be a hot-and-cold player, mixing occasional brilliance with baffling mediocrity. But today he gave full demonstration of his talent, playing in a calm, unhurried way as all else collapsed around him. Till Mohammad Rafique came to join him and scored freely with some characteristic lusty hits, Ashraful seemed to be batting on a different plane from his team-mates. He countered the swing by playing late and decisively. His first four, an off-drive against Zaheer Khan, was executed to perfection: head straight and over the ball, bat coming down straight and meeting the ball on the up but in the middle. Later, he stayed back to guide Kumble delicately off his stumps to third man for another four. But as has so often been the case with Bangladesh, he was their lone success in the top order.Pathan is the same age as Ashraful. He has the face of a chocolate-box hero, but the mind of a cool assassin. He plays his cricket with the passion of a youth, but the nous of a seasoned pro. His Test figures are misleading, because he has bowled better than the numbers suggest. He will bowl better than he did today for poorer returns because, barring Ashraful, the Bangladesh batsmen played him like novices, but he will relish this day because the first five-for, like the first hundred, is always special. It marks the breaking of a barrier.Pathan is a rare talent, because he is the purveyor of a dying art. Pace bowlers these days are taught to pitch the ball on a length rather than try to swing it. Swing bowling takes skill and courage, for it demands the bowler to pitch the ball up and risk punishment. Pathan was fortunate to have got his break early, because toiling on barren domestic pitches could have sapped his spirit and changed his aspirations. He was fortunate also to have encountered Wasim Akram on his maiden international tour. Akram shared his knowledge willingly and generously, and Pathan fed on him like a hungry child. Every time Pathan claimed a wicket with his swing today, there was a gleam in Akram’s voice in the commentary box. Left-arm swing bowling is alive and well.

Guyana 310 and 148 for 8 (Ramdass 60; Smith 4-46) drew with Barbados 395 (Campbell 81, Smith 114; Nagamootoo 5-116)
ScorecardBarbados narrowly missed out on an eighth straight win in the Carib Beer 2004 Cricket Series, but went through to the final against Jamaica as a result of having gained a first-innings lead. Guyana, who started their second innings 85 in arrears, were 148 for 8 when stumps were drawn with Sewnarine Chattergoon and Mahendra Nagamootoo having defied the bowlers in the final stages.Dwayne Smith, later named Man of the Match, captured 4 for 46 from 25 overs, and Fidel Edwards took 3 for 34 as Guyana collapsed in their second innings. But Chattergoon, who came out to bat nursing a sore shoulder, and Nagamootoo did enough to thwart any attempt to go for an outright win.Barbados will now play Jamaica in the final on home turf – the venue has yet to be announced – from March 25 to 28. They have already won the Carib Beer Cup, and are looking to win a second trophy for the season.

Scorecard

A captain’s innings from Charlotte Edwards and four wickets from Isa Guha helped England to a last-gasp victory with just four balls remaining against India at Arundel. England were making heavy going of chasing down 186, at a sticky 73 for 3, but Edwards rescued them with a 61-ball 47, and with Jenny Gunn (42 not out), propelled England to success.Beth Morgan chipped in with a handy unbeaten 14 from 18 balls to ensure the win in which England managed to reverse the momentum after Jhulan Goswami and Amita Sharma had them in trouble early on.India’s own innings had got off to decent enough start, with Karu Jain and Rumeli Dhar adding 41 for the first wicket. But Dhar fell shortly after Jain, both subsiding to the medium pace of Guha, before Laura Newton accounted for the dangerous Anjum Chopra (93 for 3).Hemlata Kala repaired the innings a touch, putting on 84 for the fourth wicket with the topscorer Mithali Raj, who made 73. Another quick double strike from Guha removed Kala and Raj and once more punctured the momentum at a crucial time (180 for 5).England are now on their way to securing the series after going 2-0 up in the third of five matches. They have a point to prove after being beaten 4-1 in India over the winter. They set about making that point at Lord’s, no less, on Monday with a convincing victory. Today’s match was more nailbiting but England’s nerves held out.

Richard Davis, the only cricketer to have appeared for five counties, has died aged 37 after a long battle against brain cancer.Davis, known throughout the game as Dickie, began his career as a slow left-arm spinner with Kent, before going on to play for Gloucestershire, Sussex (in one-day cricket only), Warwickshire, and finally Leicestershire, for whom he played a one-off County Championship match in August 2001. It was 170th and final first-class appearance, and he signed off with six second-innings wickets.The highlight of Davis’s career came in 1994, when he was a member of Warwickshire’s treble-winning squad. Neil Smith, a friend and team-mate at Warwickshire, said: “He was thoughtful, caring and considerate – an honest and straightforward guy who will be sadly missed.”Davis had harboured hopes of moving into fulltime coaching – he was assistant coach to the England women’s team – but within two weeks of his final Championship appearance, he suffered a seizure and was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumour. A second, more aggressive tumour was discovered in September this year.Davis leaves a wife, Sam, the sister-in-law of Kent’s captain David Fulton.

A career can end in many ways. Some prefer a planned exit, others an impromptu departure. Some retire too quickly, others too slowly. Some Asian cricketers drag out their demise, eking out every morsel of acclaim and monetary reward. The bigger they come the slower they fade. Kapil Dev and Javed Miandad are two prime examples. This is not just an Asian trait, but it certainly runs more strongly in our blood.Such dithering can become a little bothersome for a cricket board intent on a clearout. What to do with a great cricketer who won’t let the fat lady sing? The answer is genius in its simplicity: announce a farewell match and stop the debate. The question is, why has nobody thought of it before? And the man with a chance to go down in history as a pioneer is Waqar Younis.Waqar has had some difficulty in the last few months. He hasn’t quite got the message. After Pakistan’s abysmal World Cup performance it seemed inevitable that he would retire from international cricket. Indeed, if Pakistan were to fail in the World Cup, a bad failure probably suited the purposes of the Pakistan Cricket Board best. Off the record, Pakistan officials will admit that it was a relief – they now had a mandate for change.Instead Waqar vowed to fight for his place, with a return to county cricket as part of his comeback plan. But in the meantime Pakistan’s young fast bowlers have rendered Waqar obsolete. And the recent public tiff between Waqar and Shoaib Akhtar underscores the painful tussle between old warhorses and young bucks that has paralysed Pakistan cricket over the last year. In offering Waqar a farewell home game against South Africa the message from the Pakistan Cricket Board is clear and simple: thank you and goodnight. The subtext is that this is Waqar’s best chance of a dignified exit, whereas the alternative is adding his name to the long list of great Asian cricketers who have departed with acrimony.It is touching too that this planned farewell will be hand in glove with Wasim Akram’s. Together they formed the most potent fast-bowling partnership in the history of Asian cricket, perhaps in world cricket. Together they will reward their fans with a final hurrah. Wasim, as ever, has shown a shrewder touch. Sensing that the mood was against him, Wasim announced his retirement and was instantly rewarded with a farewell game. During the NatWest Challenge in England I asked Wasim if he thought he should be playing. His reply? "I’ve had my time. It is time for the youngsters to enjoy themselves in the middle."Waqar should have taken a hint from Wasim’s retirement. Now the ignominy of having a farewell game foisted upon him can only be surpassed if he refuses to accept this unique offer. Waqar’s glittering career has brought many records. But there are no more on the horizon, except the dubious one of the first forced farewell. Waqar has still not accepted the Pakistan board’s proposal. He should. The selectors have said goodnight to Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram. Against South Africa in Pakistan it will be time for thank you.Kamran Abbasi, born in Lahore, brought up in Rotherham, is deputy editor of the British Medical Journal.

Muttiah Muralitharan has admitted that he feared an abrupt end to his cricket career after being called for chucking by Darrell Hair in 1995-96. In an exclusive interview published in the August issue of Wisden Asia Cricket, Murali gave a detailed account of the controversy, and how the Sri Lankan board, Arjuna Ranatunga and the rest of the team helped him overcome the crisis.

“I was shocked,” Murali said, remembering the occasion when he was first no-balled by Hair. “I had never considered the possibility of my action being illegal. I first thought they [the Australians] were scared of me, and that it was just one umpire. But when Emerson and the other guy called me again, I wondered if there might be a problem.”Deep down I believed everything was all right because throwing and bowling are completely different: one requires the shoulder and the other the elbow. You can feel the difference. But there were times when I thought that it might be the end of my career. I thought: `I can’t change my action … this is how I have bowled from the start.’ I even considered taking up legspin as I can bowl that pretty well.”Murali survived that tour, but it wasn’t the end of his ordeal. When Sri Lanka toured Australia next – in 1998-99 – he was called for chucking again, despite having been cleared by the University of Western Australia. Having experienced the situation once, Murali was much better prepared the second time around.”We expected that,” said Murali, recounting the incident. “Leading up to the match we knew it was going to happen. In 1995-96, it had been a shock – Hair had even umpired me before that Boxing Day Test and not called me or indicated any problem. So in the next tour it was not a problem for me. Yes, we were disappointed, and Arjuna was very upset, but it was not so much of a problem for me.”Murali also spoke about how Ranatunga, the captain on both those tours, supported him throughout the controversy. “The cricket board, Arjuna, Aravinda (de Silva) and the team all gave me their full backing and that reduced my fears. He [Ranatunga] really pushed the cricket board, and maybe he did save my career.”Despite his altercations with Hair, Murali said that he shared a cordial relationship with Hair. “We said hello in the matches where he has officiated since. There is no problem. People make mistakes and that episode is now gone for me. I want to look forward.”

The Indians have sought the services of Bruce Reid as bowling coach during their 84-day tour of Australia. According to a report by the Press Trust of India, the request has already been passed on to the Indian board, and a decision on the matter is expected on Sunday, when the working committee of the board meets in New Delhi.The report also says that Reid has already been approached by John Wright and is ready to work with the Indian bowlers, and the only issue that needs sorting out is the financial terms.Reid, who has been credited for the phenomenal rise of Nathan Bracken, performed a similar role during Zimbabwe’s tour to Australia earlier this year. With three out of India’s five seamers being left-armers, it is believed that Reid, who was a top-class left-arm fast bowler himself, would be the best man to help the Indians out. India go into the four-Test series with a highly inexperienced seam attack -Ajit Agarkar is the only one of the five who has played international cricket in Australia before.The decision to rope in a bowling coach might also have been prompted by India’s lacklustre performance in their tour-opener against Victoria, who hammered 518 against a toothless Indian attack, with Brad Hodge making a mammoth 264.

With the staff covering the ground to protect it from the driving wind and rain the County Ground in Taunton was a sorry place to be on Tuesday morning.After some of the best ever weather for this time of year, the day before the Cidermen play their first pre-season three day friendly against Glamorgan, the heavens opened and the players were sadly confined to indoor nets in the Centre of Excellence.As he sat looking out across the windswept ground former Somerset favourite Peter Robinson explained that April 1st was a bit of a special occasion for him. "This is my first day as a part timer here since I joined the club all those years ago, and it’s just about typical that it’s pouring down with rain. Still I suppose one good thing is that it will help to germinate my parsnip seeds!" he told me.The former Worcestershire player who made the journey down the A38 in 1965 has held almost every job that there is at the club since then, including being first team coach during the `Glory Years’ when Somerset tasted the first success of their long and colourful history.Since 1999 one of `Robbo’s’ major responsibilities has been that of Ground Safety Officer at the club, a job that has increased considerably since he took it on.Earlier this year he celebrated his sixtieth birthday and decided that it was time to relinquish the post and give himself more time to concentrate on doing the job he enjoys most, cricket coaching.`Robbo’ told me: "The Ground Safety Officer’s job started in 1999 with the World Cup, and since then it has just got more and more to do, so I wasn’t sorry to hand it over yesterday to somebody else."However the former Somerset all rounder will not be lost to the club. When I spoke to him he had just finished working with a group of youngsters from Minehead Middle School who were working at the Playing for Success Centre at the County Ground as part of the Exmoor Extension Project.He told me: "I shall have more time to coach cricket now, and will spend time working on one on one and group sessions, as well as continuing my role as cricket secretary which involves sorting out the second eleven fixtures, dealing with the cricket balls and other jobs on match days."`Robbo’ is also the official coach to the Somerset Women’s Cricket team, which includes the Somerset Under 17 and Under 15 Girls teams, and on Wednesday evening he will be attending their pre season meeting in Taunton.The job of Ground Safety Officer at Somerset County Cricket Club has been taken over by Paul Bulbeck.The former police inspector who lives in Taunton is the father of left arm seamer Matt, and his son in law Guy Wolfenden works in the Centre of Excellence at the County Ground, so he is certainly no stranger to the Somerset cricket scene.