Cricket: Cricket dropped from the Games

CRICKET IS to be excluded from the 2002 Commonwealth Games, despite its success in Kuala Lumpur last year.

The Commonwealth Games Federation yesterday approved the list of 14 individual and three team sports to be included in the Games. Table tennis and triathlon are new events and the popularity of rugby union sevens in Kuala Lumpur means it is retained. The other team sports will be netball and men's and women's hockey.

Cricket sparked much interest in Malaysia, despite continual changes to the schedule due to rain, with Australia eventually winning gold.

The West Indies Cricket Board must answer to the International Cricket Council following the pitch invasion at the end of Wednesday's one-day match with Australia in Georgetown, Guyana.

"I suspect it was more exuberance than intimidation but it is still not acceptable in modern cricket,' said the ICC chief executive, David Richards. "I shall be speaking to our referee as a matter of urgency. I'm looking forward to reading his end-of-tour report, and we will take further action then."

n The all-rounder Alan Dawson will replace the fast bowler Makhaya Ntini in South Africa's World Cup squad, following Ntini's conviction yesterday for rape.

Ntini convicted, Foreign news, page 14