Cricket: Complete Guide To The World Cup

PERFORMANCE OF THE DAY

ALAN MULLALLY

England's left-arm pace bowler made early inroads into the Zimbabwe batsmen, having both Paul Strang (0) and Murray Goodwin (4) caught in the slips. Mullally finished with figures of 2 for 16 in his 10 overs, just eclipsing Darren Gough, who finished with 2 for 24 from his 10. The seven-wicket win not only put an end to a five-match losing streak against Zimbabwe, but, more importantly, almost certainly guarantees Alec Stewart's men a place in the Super Six stage.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

My Mum even rang me up and told me to do something about my technique.

Australia's Adam Gilchrist on his World Cup form.

WEB SITE

http://www.jonty.co.za/

Jonty Rhodes' official site. Has a Q&A section where you can e-mail him and read his replies on his cricket, Christianity and epilepsy, amongst other things.

CRICKET TALK

Carnival lingo. No 7. Sinhala (SL)

Me Tendulkar Kadima Hapanek Bava Ma Asa Tibenava - Ohu Ape Muralita Muhuna Denne Keseda Kiya Balamu!

I hear that this Tendulkar fella's pretty handy - let's see how he copes with our Murali!

MISSING IDENTITY

Yesterday's missing identity was England's Mark Ealham.

MEDIA MONITOR

SAME OLD script as Scots hit the skids. It has happened to other Scots... in other sports... in other World Cups. Now Scotland's cricketers have shown they, too, know how to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Scotland's Daily Record laments its cricket side's humbling, this time against the mighty Bangladesh.

If you wanted to see all four seasons in an hour, Edinburgh's Grange Cricket Club was the place. It was cold, wet and windy, conditions under which you might want to curl up in front of a fireplace instead of being at a cricket match. It was not surprising that the stalls were half filled. The Daily Star of Bangladesh enjoys England's favourite summer sport (in May, in Scotland).

West Indies blended the old with the new yesterday in a winning formula against New Zealand... This time the old warhorses were given the support they deserved by the new generation represented by Reon King and Mervyn Dillon, who took six wickets between them. The Guyana Observer bears good tidings for a change.

BETTING

HANSIE CRONJE'S side cannot lose to Kenya today, according to the bookies. Hills make South Africa 1-100 to win and Kenya are available at 20-1. It is not a contest worth betting on, unless you're from Nairobi or know something the rest of us don't. Good value can be had by backing Steve Tikolo to top score for Kenya (best price 7-2, Hills and Stanley). Cronje is well priced (10-1, Ladbrokes) for his side, but probably won't get a bat, so Daryll Cullinan (11-2, Hills) is recommended. India (8-13, Hills) should see off Sri Lanka, with Sachin Tendulkar top- scoring (5- 2, Stanley) for the former and Sanath Jayasuriya (9-2, Ladbrokes) the latter.