Sporting Digest: Cricket

Guyana's emphatic 52-run victory over the Leeward Islands in the final of the Red Stripe Bowl one-day cricket tournament at the Kaiser Sports Club in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, on Monday, has been overshadowed by a monumental row surrounding the Leeward Islands' right to contest the final in the first place. Bad weather had halted the semi-final match between the Leewards and Trinidad and Tobago midway through the Trinidadians' innings, and the match referee, Hugh Perry, decided at the time that Trinidad and Tobago were winners due to a superior run-rate. But the Leeward Islands' management complained that Perry had used the wrong formula to determine the run-rate, and their appeal was upheld by the Jamaica Cricket Board who, amid great confusion on Sunday night, reversed the result and installed the Leeward Islands in the final. Trinidad and Tobago are reportedly considering legal action.

The 18-year-old Indian spin bowler Harbhajan Singh is to be offered help by another player to correct the faulty action which resulted in him being dropped from the Indian team, a senior official said yesterday. "The International Cricket Council will nominate a player to help him take corrective measures," the ICC president, Jagmohan Dalmiya, told reporters in Calcutta. Harbhajan was dropped after the ICC's advisory panel on illegal deliveries said his action was suspect.

Injuries have ruled the leg-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed and fast bowler Mohammad Zahid out of Pakistan's squad for the decisive third Test against Australia, starting in Karachi tomorrow. However, the home side are able to welcome back Wasim Akram and Saqlain Mushtaq.