Muralitharan's bowling performance in this 42-match Test career

• Colombo Asia Cup match was fixed -Rasheed
• South Africa bags first cricket gold
• GOH takes rugby title
• Sanath's book
• New Duncan White Memorial pins hopes on Susanthika
• Chutti Mansoor wins Mitsubishi Trophy
• Three top Motor Races
• Bristol University take on CH today
• Rover pinpoints
• Sports in brief

• Aravinda the Existentialist
• 'Murali' to lead Tamil Union
• Napoleon of Lanka cricket
• Sports Minister rewards relay quartet
• International Lanka Marathon on November 29
• Boost to Tennis Smash

Colombo Asia Cup match was fixed -Rasheed

LAHORE, Pakistan, Saturday - Former Pakistan coach Haroon Rasheed told a judge investigating charges of betting and match-fixing in Pakistan cricket today, he was convinced that some matches, including an Asia Cup match in Colombo last year, was deleberately lost.

"During my (July 1997-August 1998) tenure as coach there were some matches which I, as a cricketer, felt should have been won by Pakistan but were lost," Rasheed told Justice Malik Mohammad Qayyum at a hearing.

Rasheed told a government-appointed inquiry into allegations of foul play in the national sport that there were three one-day internationals which he felt Pakistan should have won but lost. An interim report by the Pakistan Cricket Board recommended that Salim Malik, Wasim Akram and Ijaz Ahmad should not be selected in the team until the investigations were over.

Malik and Ahmad are presently in Canada for the Sahara Cup against India while Wasim Akram has announced his retirement. "During an Asia Cup match in Colombo in 1997, Pakistan were chasing 239 and the target looked well within reach when Inzamam-ul-Haq and Salim Malik were batting. But first Inzamam was run out while taking a risky single and then Salim Malik threw away his wicket," Rasheed said.

"In the dressing room, Inzamam told me that he and Malik had decided not to take risky singles but he (Salim Malik) made a call to which he had to respond," Rasheed, who was replaced by Javed Miandad last month, said.

"In one of the 1997 Sahara Cup matches, Pakistan were chasing 208 for victory and Salim Malik and Saqlain Mushtaq were at the crease. Once again there was a mix-up which resulted in Saqlain's run-out. Shortly, Salim Malik again threw away his wicket as Pakistan lost by 20 runs."

Rasheed said in the second one-day international against India at Karachi the visitors needed 16 or 17 runs in the last over which was bowled by Saqlain Mushtaq. "He gave away those runs. Such kind of bowling could not have been expected of a bowler of Saqlain Mushtaq's calibre," Rasheed said.

Rasheed said that during last year's Asia Cup, Rashid Latif gave an interview in which he accused both Pakistani and Indian cricketers of match-fixing.

Rasheed said he contacted Latif, who was in England at that time, who contradicted some portions of the interview and denied naming Saeed Anwar. The next hearing is set for September 26.

South Africa bags first cricket gold

KUALA LUMPUR, Saturday - South Africa, who barely scraped into the final after a series of poor performances, overpowered red-hot favourites Australia on Saturday to win the first cricket gold medal in Commonwealth Games history.

Their four-wicket margin of victory, after bowling the Australians out for just 183 in 49.3 overs with only captain Steve Waugh's 90 not out preventing an Australian collapse, was easier than it appeared on paper. Three South African wickets went down in the last few overs when it was only a question of who would strike the winning run thanks to a lightning start to their innings by Andrew Hudson (36) and Mike Rindel, who went on to make 67. Steve Waugh, whose side had crushed everything before them in a rampant march to the final, was bitterly disappointed by their performance on Saturday.

"The batting was poor. A lot of soft dismissals. We shouldn't have gifted away wickets," he said. "It doesn't mean anything when you come second," he said. The South Africans did everything the Australians were expected to do — they bowled well, fielded superbly and their batting came good for the first time in a tournament which marked cricket's debut in the 68-year-old Games.

They were helped by what looked like some overconfident batting by the Australians as Adam Gilchrist and Ricky Ponting went to ambitious pulls off Shaun Pollock to go early and cheap. Only Steve Waugh looked confident on a Kuala Lumpur pitch which did not take spin quite as viciously as on earlier days and helped the fast bowlers a little less. Pollock ended with figures of four for 19, and topped it with the gold medal as the head of a team without South Africa's regular captain Hanse Cronje and other stars.

GOH takes rugby title

By Saif Izzadeen

Grand Oriental Hotel won the first ever Travel Trade Beach Rugby championships by edging out Walkers Tours by 15 points (three tries) to 10 (one try and one penalty try). at the Royal Oceanic Hotel premises in Negombo yesterday

This tournament was organised by the Travel Trade Sports Club for the first time and was sponsored by Jet Wing Travels. In the semi finals Walkers Tours beat Makinnons Travels by 10-0. In the other semi final Grand Oriental Hotel beat Whittals Travels by 20-0. This set the stage for an exciting battle between Grand Oriental Hotel and Walkers Tours.

Sanath's book

A special book titled 'This is your life' is to be presented to the world champion and record holding cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya by the Chairman of Delmege Forsyth & Company Limited on Tuesday, September 22 at 10 AM at No.101 Vinayalankara Mawatha, Colombo 10.

The book is a collection of the various articles published in the print media which includes articles from his early cricketing career until the World Cup.

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