India in West Indies

West Indies skipper Carl Hooper has warned his side against any complacency after beating India in the recently concluded Test series.

The two sides meet again on Wednesday in Barbados in the opening of a reduced series of three one-dayers after the first two matches at Sabina Park were abandoned due to heavy rain in Jamaica.

"We are pretty much looking forward to Barbados. We don't want complacency to creep in," he told the Press Trust of India.

Hooper added: "We made sure the younger players are not left to their own devices. Rather, we have trained with great intensity together in the gym and tried to make everyone aware of his responsibility."

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Against the background of this weekend's complete wash-out, and concerned about a further threat of rain for the remainder of the season, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) will strongly urge the International Cricket Council (ICC) not to stage matches in the Caribbean in the hurricane season.

And if the game's governing body does not co-operate, it could signal the demise of West Indies cricket, says WICB president Reverend Wes Hall.

"I have been proselytising with near evangelical zeal to the ICC about this position," Hall said yesterday amidst non-stop rain that forced the abandonment of the second successive Cable & Wireless One-Day International between West Indies and India at Sabina Park.

World Cup 2003

Cricket and rugby authorities have averted what would have been a major clash of programmes early next year when both the 2003 Cricket World Cup and the Super 12 begins in February.

If the programmes had clashed it could have caused huge financial losses, curtailment of television coverage for both sports and a fall-off in spectator support.

Supersport and SABC have the exclusive rights to the Cricket World Cup which will be broadcast worldwide, while the Super 12 is exclusively televised on Supersport channels.

Instead, the two broadcasters have decided to work together for the smooth running and maximum exposure of both the 2003 Cricket World Cup and the Super 12.

Miscellaneous

The Australian Cricket Board has charged Adam Gilchrist with breaching its code of conduct for questioning the legality of Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan's bowling action.

Gilchrist was reported as suggesting Muralitharan was a 'chucker' during a weekend lunch with the Carlton Aussie Rules football club.

"After reading the statements attributed to Adam, I rang him and asked him to provide me with details about the accuracy of the comments and how they came to be in the public domain," said ACB chief executive James Sutherland.

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The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) on Sunday dismissed reports that India could opt out of major cricketing events like the World Cup to maintain its boycott of arch-rival Pakistan.

"The ACC feels India must play a leadership role for the betterment of cricket in Asia and reports of India not playing major events like the World Cup and ICC (International Cricket Council) Champions Trophy are not realistic," ACC Secretary Zakir Hussain Syed said.

Reports last week suggested India may not play an ICC event in Sri Lanka in September this year or next year's World Cup in South Africa as Pakistan is one of the contesting teams.

"India can't isolate itself from international cricket and to play in all international events is a commitment of ICC members," Syed said.

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The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has suffered a loss of $7.5m (£5.15m) for the financial year ending in September 2001.

Board president Reverend Wes Hall has attributed the loss to proceedings with development plans despite decreased revenues.

The WICB has lost $15m over the past three years but officials have projected a break-even budgetary estimate for the 12 month period, which ends in September 2002.

"The loss experienced over the last two or three years are of grave concern to me and to this board," Hall told the board's annual general meeting.

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