The Guardian from London, Greater London, England • 22

SPORTS GUARDIAN Friday February 25, 1983 22 Robert Armstrong on the League chairmen's 52-0 vote against television's offer Rethink planned on TV deal David Lacey Cowans opens a new door At the heart of the panies describe these figures as misleading owing to the fact that the payment made to the League each successive year was inflation-proofed. If the television companies want our product, they ought to pay a fair price and not saddle us with petty restrictions like insisting all Milk Cup matches are played on a Wednesday," said Dunnett. The clubs also object to what they see as the companies' unreasonable attitude over shirt advertising currently banned because the companies say it is outlawed by the terms of their charters, though the League do not accept this explanation. "We have looked at the rules and charters and don't agree with their interpretation," said. Winston.

"Why should we have imposed on us a restriction not enforced anywhere else in Europe It is an opportunity missed to raise more revenue for the game." No doubt the League's insistence on this issue is shaped by the inconsistency of the companies who turn a blind eye to the surreptitious shirt advertising practised in tennis and athletics. Cliff Morgan, the Head, of BBC Sport, warned yesterday that "there is no more money in British television" but welcomed the prospect of further talks. All I'm interested in is having football on television next season so it can't be the end of the story. We have to get talking again and see if football knows what it wants." Morgan negotiates jointly with John Bromley, London Weekend Television's Head of Sport. SOCCER The future of televised soccer went back into the melting pot when chairmen of Football League clubs unanimously rejected the TV companies' 5 million offer at an extraordinary general meeting in London yesterday.

The two-year contract proposed by the BBC and ITV was thrown out by 52 votes to nil, with only the League Management Committee declining to vote. The package was also rejected by First Division chairmen who held their own meeting before the main session. But Jack Dunnett, the League President, said afterwards that there was no possibility of the bigger clubs forming a breakaway group and arranging their own deal with the television companies. "All the clubs took the view that they would risk a blackout if they did not get decent terms," he said. However, the clubs left the door ajar for a fresh round of negotiations despite their seemingly hard-line stance.

We are only too keen to cooperate with the companies but wc must have decent lerms," said Dunnett. "If there is no interest there will be no football on TV next season. We arc still willing to meet them at any lime they like but not a single club wanted the present offer. I have never known such unanimity." Future negotiations will almost certainly turn on financial details rather than ihe controversial new proposal for the live transmission of League games next season. Dilip Rao in Kingston, Jamaica Shastri leads an Indian fightback together, but without being any- LlfjRlCK'FT where near his best.

He has had a lean time during the season but on this occasion, he played within his current limitations India, after their dismissal for and survivcd for houl. after 2ol on an ideal batting pitch, 0UT made a stern fightback on the Tr second day of the first Test Haynes's recent form was against the West Indies, at also described as indifferent but. Sabina Park yesterday. They Indla must have thought that contained and repelled the made three offensives mounted by first Des- olT-driyes and a mond Haynes and then Viv S' Credit lor the resurgence was as no surc for havin due mainly to the left-arm spin- been away from cricket for a ner Raw Shastri, who removed month. It took a truly good ball Viv Richards for 29 in only his jo get him out second over and then Gomes, well-versed in playing spin, in Young Augustine Logic, a his fourth compact little batsman from The ball that had Richards, SW in full flight, caught at slip I Invd bounced as well ns turned 0ut' J-10" waS determined to There was soZ snrfntr also in unnerve the accurate Shastri mere was some spring aiso in arlfi is minntnc the delivery that had Larry JXri mJipH hYm tar Gomes superbly caught at short- IHM 01sted hinl for a leg by Yashpal.

The pitch suited stra'Snt slx- Shastri, particularly for bounce, The West Indies were 149 for because of the height from four at the close. which he delivered the ball. india. First innings With the ball turning quite fre- (overnight: 219 for 7) quently even at this stage, India s. m.

Gavaskar Duion Marshall 20 look to have missed out by not fr. BjKfg 23 batting on the first day With O. B. Vengsarkar Richards mnrp nrit Roberts 30 more gni. Yashpal Sharma Haynes Garner 63 If India acquired a score that siw 1 was even somewhere in the I region of respectability, it was g.

s. Sandhu Gamer Roberts 68 because their eight -wicket partnership between Yashpal Extras (b lb 15, nb 10 26 Sharma and Sandhu put on 107, Total (all ollt) the last 15 of them yesterday Fail of wickets: 10. 58. 66. 98.

as. im. morning. The pair forced a new 127, 234, 238. entry into the record book, for Holding 24-5-57-2: Roberts 22- thn nrovinnc: tiiohnct cfpnJ fnr 15.4-4-41-2: Marshall Willie previous nignest Stanil tor Gomes 9-0-31-0: Richards 1-1-0-0.

the eighth wicket was 94 on this west indies First innings same ground in 1962 between g. Greenidge not out 50 Nadakarni and Engineer. D. Havnesc Armarnath Kapil I Dei 25 I. V.

A. Richards Venkat ShastrT 29 In turmoil and With the L. Gomes Yashpal Sharma Shastri 4 second new ball immediately lo due, India could not have been 'Extras lib 3. nb 5 8 at all perturbed that play -tt: started 50 minutes late because Fall T0f 35 iii' the pitch had been damaged Bowling: Kapii' Dew ia-3-28-1; sandhu accidentally by a dig from the 5-i-ic-O; venkat 12-0-34-0: Manner shaft of the heavy roller. The "-'-37-0; ii-s-26-2.

new ball wrapped up the Indian New Zealand have recalled innings in just under an hour. Richard Hadlee in place of Jeff But the demolition might have Crowe for the third one-dav taken longer if Andy Roberts against England, in had not frequently resorted to christchurch tomorrow, bowling short-pitched balls, TB TOUR MATCH (Wanganui. NZ 50 overs even at the tail-endcrs. a Sldc). Srl- jfo (44 A overs R.

Whnn VVnct Tnrlinc hattnrl Oisi 50) Minor Associations 220 for 5 wnen west inaies Dauea, (49 0ers- Parkcr nol out Gi Greenidge held their innings 64). Minor Asociations won by five wickets. JOHN BROMLEY, Head of LWT Sport: Former Fleet Street sports journalist. Relaxed manner conceals astute awareness that has' enabled him to survive in the cutthroat world of commercial television. Feels that football has a lower ratings performance, making costs harder to justify.

Pessimistic about prospects for a new contract. An ideal foil for Morgan. tackled at the first attempt and there are still many months to go before a new contract starts." The clubs wiio took just 70 minutes to reach their decision feel that the current offer does not reflect increased costs since the 10 million agreement reached four years ago. Dunnett has argued that the offer represents a rise of only 16 per cent, although the retail price index lias risen 59.4 per cent since 1979. The com Pter Dobereiner in Miami Nicklaus troubled by yellow peril Yorkshire climbdown JACK DUNNETT, Football League President Believes football can possibly flourish without TV coverage but is aware that most chairmen want an agreement with the companies.

Dunnett is also chairman of Notts County, among the worst supported in the First Division, hence his anxiety to stop fans drifting away. Leads the League's four-man negotiating team. Lawyer. Though Dunnett himself favours taking soccer off the screens for a couple of seasons, other negotiators, such as Brian Winston of Orient, gave the idea of live transmission a guarded welcome as a progressive move away from highlights and goal clips. We would prefer fewer matches in more detail rather than more matches in less detail," said Winston.

A limited experiment would be interesting and worth try the hackers' hero, Ed Fiori. who grips the club with his right hand under the shaft, having just failed with six plausible birdie putts, which would have give him a score five strokes better than the course record. Fiori had a 65 and rated the Doral greens as the best the players had encountered so far this year and probably the best they would enjoy all the season. Accordingly, he thought the scoring would be lower than usual. As to which of these players will prove to be a true prophet wc must wait and see, but the testimony of five 25-foot birdie putts by the second-year pro.

Ken Green, for a 67 supports the Fiori line. Nick Faldo looked rather better than his score of 70. He successfully negotiated the tracery of lakes that makes this course as much of an aquatic sport as a cross-country game, and that control was achieved with no loss of his impressive length. II was the putting that cost him a richer reward. American professionals are split into two camps those who like the bent grass greens of the temperate latitudes and those who prefer the Bermuda greens of the sunny south.

They are, therefore, Florida specialists and West Coast experts. For Faldo the greens are something of a mystery wherever he plays in America. Peter Oostcrhuis was out late when a brisk breeze added to the hazards of the course but played solidly for a 68 to finish three strokes behind the leader. retire want to disclose her reasons until the tournament is over. There are probably several.

Her recent marriage at the age of 25 has also provided a security and a happiness in marked contrast to her feelings about table tennis at the moment, although pregnancy, unlike her friend and rival Mrs Parker, is apparently not a factor. Mrs Parker, the former champion a record seven times, said that she was not expecting to win the title again, but promptly reached the last eight very efficiently by beating the aggressive Miss Reeves 21-19, 21-14, 21-5. She now plays Jackie Bellinger, the new England No. 4, while Mrs Moore meets the younger sister Lisa Bellinger, the 15-year-old new England No. 3.

The decision was announced after the deadline for postal votes and Crawford spend eight hours ringing 22 members of the genreal committee to get his initiative backed. Yorkshire ran into immediate trouble when they put forward the rule changes three weeks ago. The would have supported some of the changes but not all three. Opposition grew, rallied by committee men from Hull, Halifax, Rotherham, Barnsley and Doncastcr. Yorkshire will now invite members to write in with their ideas of reforming the club before making further proposals next year.

Meanwhile the seven man executive committee will ask the district members to extent its 12-month trial period for the coming 12 months. Martin Searby THE ANKLE injury which threatens to keep Bryan Rob-son out of both the Milk Cup final on March 26 and England's European Championship match against Greece four days later may enhance, in retrospect, the value of Wednesday's questionable exercise against Wales. With less than half an hour to go before the kick-off Wembley wore the sort of desolate, minimally interested look that is normally reserved for the annual University match- The crowd of 24,000 was the lowest-ever to watch an England game at the stadium. England's 2-1 victory, achieved through a goal by Butcher and a late penalty from Ncal after Rush had given the Welsh an early lead, rewarded the hardcore of their supporters for bothering to turn out on a bitterly cold evening, but did not mean very much in broader international terms. However, if Bobby Robson, the England manager, has lost Bryan Robson, his present captain, for the Greek game, then he will have been grateful for the chance to discover yet another important option in midfield.

After Robson had been carried off at Old Traf-ford on Wednesday during Manchester United's Milk Cup semi-final against Arsenal, he was replaced by Ray Wilkins, who by all accounts proved an admirable substitute. Whether or not Wilkins, Bobby Robson's first choice as captain after taking over the England team front Ron Greenwood, returns just as easily to the international team depends on a number of factors. After Wilkins had been put out of action in November with a broken cheekbone Lee and Mabbutt joined Bryan Robson in giving England the important pace and tackling power which had not been there before. Even Hoddle, once he was lit, could only disturb this pattern of success as a substitute. Now Gordon Cowans of Aston Villa has made a belated but highly encouraging entry into the England side.

Against Wales Cowans played with much of Wil-kins's authority in his own half but what is far more important, he showed a greater willingness to get forward into scoring positions and produced more shots in a single game than one remembered Wilkins achieving in a year. "You had to be impressed by the boy." said Bobby Robson yesterday. It was not a great match in which to make your debut, but he scrapped and played intelligent football. He was always carrying the ball forward, always keen to play good one-twos and always looking to score." The other new cap, Statham, handicapped in the second half by having to attack along an icy wing, nevertheless proved himself an adequate understudy for Sansom at left back. Devonshire had a reasonably successful match but still does not achieve the consistent penetration for England on the left which is CoppelFs strength on the right.

Blissett created several excellent openings but again wasted chances and neither he nor Mariner did enough to alter the feeling that Woodcock remains England's best hope of getting goals. In spite of Wednesday's low attendance, the Football Association has no intention of switching the lesser internationals away from Wembley, although Robson did come up with the idea of organising reduced party rates for schoolchildren. 0 West German manager Jupp Derwall returned home from Portugal yesterday with fierce criticism ringing in his cars following his side's 1-0 friendly international defeat in Lisbon on Wednesday. West Germany's inept performance it was their first ever defeat by Portugal coupled with losing to Northern Ireland in the European Championship last November, is certain to increase demand for Derwall's resignation. DAVIS rebuilding his CLIFF MORGAN, Head of BBC Outside Broadcasts Legendary Welsh rugby international whose career as a TV executive has shown the same skill and enterprise.

Personal charm makes him a formidable negotiator. Optimistic about the chances of reaching a settlement with the League provided there is a return to "financial reality." Prefers negotiation to confrontation, he says. ing." The companies would like to screen 26 live League games in addition to midweek Milk Cup ties for which they have offered 2,671.000 a year. Televised football would not begin until October. But Winston insists that most clubs could survive without the money from television.

"The companies now know the unanimous feeling of football and we can go on from there," he said. "No negotiations have ever been SPORT IN BRIEF BOXING Elioncio Mercedes, the world flyweight champion, railed to turn up for his date with Charlie Magri in London yesterday. Mercedes, who defends the title against Magri at Wembley on March 15, could not attend a pre-fight press conference after the Dominican's flight to London was diverted to Scotland because of bad visibility at Heathrow. Magri, who did turn up, was pleased and relieved. "I don't want to look at the fellow until I see him at the weigh-in.

I don't want to finish up fighting him at the press conference. March 15 will be soon enough for me," he said. "I feel completely ready. This fight could not have come at a better time." BASKETBALL: Tom Becker, the Sunderland coach, is to leave the club at the end of the season. After three years at Sunderland, during which time he was voted coach of the year and guided the club to the national championship in 1981, Becker feels he needs a change.

He said I've gone as far as I can with this team and I'm looking for a new challenge." SAILING The smaller boats in the Miami to Nassau race were helped as the wind veered from south-east to south-west over 24 hours, and Harold Baskerville's 37 foot Migizi won by a minute-and-a-half on handicap, writes Bob Fisher. TENNIS: Jimmy Connors, the top seed, was surprisingly beaten 6-3, 64, in a WCT event in La Quinta, California, by fellow-American, Mike Bauer who is ranked 89th in the world. BADMINTON Kevin Jolly and Steve Baddeley, England's top singles players, are expected to renew their rivalry in the ISI Essex Open Championships which begin at Redbridge today. The two, who are seeded to meet in the final, have not played each other since Jolly succeeded the England No.i Baddeley as national champion in December. SPORTS POLITICS: A further rebuttal of the Commonwealth Games code of conduct regarding sporting relations with South Africa came yesterday from Britain's major water sports bodies.

After a meeting to discuss the 1982 Brisbane Agreement, the sports said it was quite improper for outside agencies to seek to impose disciplines upon British sports which took their guidance from the laws of Great Britain and the rules of their international federations. in the front rows which are most commonly revealed by television cameras. Be all that as it may, Davis has added another first prize to those from the Langs Supreme Scottish Masters in September, the Lada Classic in January and, in partnership with Tony Meo, the Hofmeister World Doubles in December. Davis has failed this season to retain the Jameson International (won by Tony Knowles), the Coral United Kingdom championship (won by Griffiths), and the Benson and Hedges Masters (won by Cliff Thorburn, and he was GOLF Whisper it softly in the Big Room at SI Andrews, try to suppress the news altogether at Muirfield. but Jack Nicklaus has taken to playing with a yellow golf ball.

Unlike Jerry Pate, who is paid a six-figure sum each year to use a red ball, Nicklaus is a voluntary convert to the luminous horror although, mind you. he does own the company that makes them. He made a promising start in the first round of the Doral Open and when he went to three under par I changed course to intercept him. Before I could catch up with his group the scoreboard showed he had taken a double bogey at te par three 13th and I confessed to the unworthy hope that he might have lost his jaundiced missile in the lake. It transpired that he has mis-hit his tec shot, fluffed his pitch, chipped up to three feet and missed the putt.

Thai apart, he said breezily, he had played reasonably well, which was rather like Mrs Abraham Lincoln remarking that otherwise she had thoroughly enjoyed the play. He had a 70. It fame as something of a surprise to hear Nicklaus's opinion that the rough at Doral was as hard as anything he had encountered at a South Florida tournament, because I had not noticed that there was any rough. He said that the scoring this year would he rather higher than usual. Even as he spoke in came Richard Eaton Champion to STABLE Carole Moore, the national champion, says she intends to retire as soon as the defence of her Norwich Union English title at Woking is over.

She struggled to reach the last eight last night, when she won 21-18, 21-5, 19-21, 21-18, against 'the England No 15, Angela Mitchell, but poor form is unlikely to be the only reason for her decision. Mrs Moore, who privately threatened to retire this time last year but changed her mind after a change of fortune that also saw her become the Commonwealth champion, does not Clive Everton on the Late bed SNOOKER DEMENTED visions of live snooker on breakfast television loomed at the Corn Exchange, Ipswich in yesterday's early hours as Steve Davis and Terry Griffiths, currently not snooker's fastest exponents, contested the final of the Tolly Cob-bold Classic. It was 1.50 am before Davis clinched the 7-5 win which earned him 5,000 bat for Anglia Television, who were recording the tourna SMOOTH ON THE SURFACE: Andy King, the Everton midfield player, was one of several Uverpool and Everton footballers who turned out to mark the opening of a new synthetic-grass pitch at Toxteth, Liverpool, yesterday. The all-weather pitch, which cost 310.000 and can be used for soccer, hockey and netball, is part of the Government's 1.25 million leisure initiative for Merseyside announced after the riots of 1981. Picture by Don McPhee Guide to the turf Yorkshire's general committee made a dramatic climbdown last night when they decided to withdraw their controversial package of new rules.

In an unprecedented move, the 28-strong committee bowed to mounting opposition and the three new laws to form an executive, give powers to expel members and raise the numbers rquired to force a special meeting have been taken off the agenda for tomorrow's annual meeting. But the club insisted it had not given in to threats of legal action by some of the five rebel committee men. In view of the concern and acrimony in some quarters we have decided not to proceed," said the chairman, Michael Crawford. Because of the temperature we think a cooling-off period is desirable and in the next twelve months we can try and hit upon the right formula." Signs for HOCKEY Slough, the holders and unofficial Europeans, are probably stronger favourites than ever to win the Rank Xerox English inrlnnr hamninnshin hpfore a capacity crowd at Crystal jfaiace tonigni. Three of last year's winning side, Khehar and the goalkeepers Taylor and Louden, will be missing while manager lan Mitchell has also stcod down, but Slough's largely Asian side continues to win everything.

Slough's first opponents tonight are Stourport who, llarborne and Gloucester City, are newcomers to the Palace. It is difficult to imagine Stourport, only fourth in the Mid- iamrlc nramiiir Ipapnf fSPflpintr enough goals to trouble siougn, out it win interesting to see how Stourport, with RESULTS Soccer NORTHERN PREMIER LEAGUE CUP. Macclesfield 3, Hyde Utd 0. CENTRAL LEAGUE First Division Sheffield Uld 1, Man Uld 2. LONDON SENIOR CUP Second Round Sutton 3, Kingstonian 0: Welling 2, Bishops Stortford 1.

NORTH-WEST COUNTIES LEAGUE Second Division Ellesmere Port 1, Chadderton 0. Tennis WCT TOURNAMENT (Dtlrav Beach) Second Round (US i (not stated) P. Slozil (Czech) Mat Tim GnlliKson, (w, b-u, -t E. Fromm beat P. Fleming, 4-6, 7-6.

6-2 T. Smld (Czech) beat D. Bedel (France). 1-b, 6-lL 6-3: H. Sundsirom (Sweden) beat T.

Cain, 6-1. 6-1 E. Dibbs beat V. Winitsky, 6-3. 6-1 J.

Kriek A(rica) beat J. Anas, b-q, o-i u. moiia (Brazil) beat B. Scanlon, 6-4. 7-6.

WOMEN'S TOURNAMENT (Oakland). First Round (US If nol stated): Kohde (W Ger) beat H. Mandlikova (Czech) 1-6, 6-3, 6-3; A. Temesvarl (Hungary) beat S. Collins, 6-2, 6-2: B.

Bunne (W Ger) beat Ratlin. fCR) hpat Lcand, 6-3, 6-2. Second Round: T. Austin beat I. Buriarova (Czech), 6-1, 6-1; S.

HanlKa (W lien neat a. wnuc. 4-n, 6-4. 6-3: A. Smith beat K.

Jordan. 6-4. 6-7. 6-3. Snooker TOLLY 0BB0LD CLASSIC (Inswich).

Final: S. Davis (Plumstcad) beat T. Griffiths (Llanelli). 7-5, (1-106. 83-39, 68-41, JD-61.

66-16. 64-52. 90-26. 40-75. 43- 42, 69-79, 69-45, 92-52).

Basketball DAIHATSU CHAMPIONSHIP Final (Cardiff) MINI 95, Crystal Palace 78. Golf SUNSHINE CIRCUIT (Mbabane). Second Round (S African unless stated) 131 D. Sann (US), 65, 66. 133 J.

Bland, 68, 65. 130 G. Pearson, 69. 67. 137 J.

Fourie, 69 68. 138 J. Hawkes, 69, 6V H. Balocchi, 72. 66; M.

Bright. 70. 6S D. Robertson (US). 68.

70 S. Hobday, Queen's Park Rangers' much-criticised artificial pitch could have been made more suitable for soccer if the club had not wnnlnrl tn ner it fnr Kn mnnv different interests. Seymour Tomarin, the President of Omnisport who installed me nitnh at- T.nftm: said his company had known from the. start that it could have had less bounce and a better foothold. More materials should have been added to the base ori ginally and we have been nroved correct.

We have said to the club that we would Iik to alter the base, but there Slough some of the best young outdoor players around, cope with Slough's skilful play. Slough will probably face their former goalkeeper lan Taylor and his England colleagues Leman and Kerly, in fie semi-finals, for East Grinstcad should account for Harbornc. Neighbouring sides meet in the other half of the draw. Carl Ward's Firebrands should become only the second West club to make the semi-finals by beating Gloucester City, while Tulse Hill should account for Blackheath in a match which brings together two former winners and could provide an upset. But a repeat of last year's final, which Slough won easily over Tulse Hill, seems likely.

Tulse Hill are the one side to have beaten Slough this winter. Pat Rowley 67. 71. 139 P. van Zyl, 68, 71 I.

Mos; (GB), 70, 69. Other British: 140 B. Sharrock, 66, 74 S. Bennett, 71, 69 P. Harrison.

69. 71. NIGERIAN OPEN Lagos) First Round (GB if not staled) 65 M. Grenwn. 69 S.

Martin, J. Omoruah (Nigeria), P. Tupling. (70 J. Hay, D.

Russell, A. Forsbrand (Sweden), J. Higgins. G. Cullen.

71 N. Hunt, M. Steadman, A. Butler, D. Stirling.

G. Brand. S. Bishop. L.

Owens (Ireland). D. Jaqqcr. B. Lonqmuir, E.

Murray. Cycling NICE TO ALASSI0 RACE (95 miles). 1. E. Dall'Armellina, France, 4hr OOmin lO.Osec; 2, G.

D. Lassalle (France). Boxing WBA JUNIOR BANTAMWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP (Tsii, Japan). Jlro Watanabe (Japan, holder) beat Luis Ibanez (Peru), lio 8th rd. Sailing MIAMI TO NASSAU RACE.

Class 1, Boomerang (G. Coumantaros); 2, windward Passage (W. Johnson): 3, War Baby (W. Brown). Class 1, Infinity (J.

Thomson); 2, Bla Carat (R. Gustalson); 3, Carat (W. Forss). Class 1. Morning Star (J.

Ambrose); 2, Devastator (P. Akers); 3, Obsession (J. Andrew). Class 1, Scarlett 0'Hara (J. Wmuale); 2, Bright Finish (M.

Levin); 3. Locura (R. de Guardiola). Class 1, Fiji Warrior (R. Le Fort): 2.

Flirt of Paget (F. Trimmingham); 3, Shenandoah (W. Palmer). Class 1, Migizi (H. Bas-kervillc); also Chest corrected time); 2, Special Edition (P.

Harris); 3, Freefall (T. Simpkins). Table Tennis NORWICH UNION ENGLISH CLOSED CHAMPIONSHIPS (Woking). Women's Singles, Second Round C. Moore (Cleveland) beat A.

Mitchell (Mddx), 21-18, 10-21. 21-5, 19-21. 21-18 J. Parker (lanes) beot M. Reeves (Mdd).

21-19. 21-14. 21-15; K. Witt (Berks) beat S. Collier heat M.

Reeves (Mddx), 21-19, 21-14, (Mddx) beat J. Barella (Surrey), 21-16. 21-11. 21-11 L. Bellinger (Beds) wo M.

Hill (Yorks). scr A. Gordon (Berks) be.it M. Smith (Berks). 17-2), 71-7, 21-13, J.

Grundy (lanes) beat J. Harris (Staffs). 21-13, 21-14. 21-16 J. Bellinger (Beds) heat Goldsmith (Mddx), 21-14, 21-16.

final of the Tolly Cobbold Classic would have to be discussions about the cost," said Tomarin. John Barrett, the tennis international and director of the company, added that Rangers had wanted a surface hard enough to withstand even performing circus elephants. So far FIFA and UEFA have yet to approve the surface for their competitions. Contracts worth 2 million for Omniturf areas were announced yesterday by the Omnisport Company. Sunderland Metropolitan Borough, the London Borough of Brent, and the Rhondda Council have put in orders for multi-purpose play areas.

It will be no great portent if he fails to retain the Yamaha title at Derby next week. The format, four-man round-robin groups and three matches, is geared too much to the sprinter. He will attempt to improve on his defeat by Griffiths in last year's final of the Benson and Hedges Irish Masters but, regardless of success or failure there, he will certainly not repeat the mistake he made last year when a crammed schedule drained him of feeling for the game by the time he reached for camera crew as Davis edges home ment for transmission next month, the event proveU more expensive than we bargained for," as their Head of Sport Len Caynes wryly said." It was unfortunate that it went on that long." ITV have to pay time-and-a-half for working between midnight and 1 am and double time between 1 am and 2 am. If the match had run its full 13 frames, an absurd length for a single evening session, triple time, which was due to come into force at 2 am would certainly have had to be paid. Many seats were vacated long before the close, several the only leading professional not to compete in the Professional Players' Tournament (won by Ray Reardon).

But his overall record on the circuit is still superior to that of any of his rivals. With the Embassy World championship to be held at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, from April 16 to May 2, Davis continues quietly and relatively unspectacularly rebuilding the confidence which was so dramatically shattered when his defence of the world title last year proceeded no further than a 10-1 first-round drubbing by Knowles..