Cricket: Walsh in command

Courtney Walsh dealt Brian Lara, his successor as West Indies captain, a fresh blow as Warwickshire skipper yesterday, taking six for 65 in a commanding 170 runs victory by Gloucestershire at Bristol.

It was the fourth defeat in the last five matches for Warwickshire and Lara's run of poor form continued when Mike Smith trapped him lbw for a duck.

In the only other match to produce a winner Lancashire beat Somerset by nine runs at Old Trafford. A defiant eighth-wicket stand between Marcus Trescothick (73 not out) and Graham Rose (56) was not quite enough for the visitors.