Fears over safety, and not just seeking a fairer balance between bat and ball, "have emerged as reasons why cricket officials are considering reducing the size of bats." The Int'l Cricket Council's cricket committee last week "debated whether change was required, as complaints mount that bowlers are at too much of a disadvantage." If there is change, it is almost certain the length of the bat (no longer than 96.5cm) and width (10.8cm at its widest part) will not be adjusted. Rather, it will be the depth allowed, for this is central to the "sweet spot" and thick edges -- the latter often leaving bowlers and supporters "bemused when innocuous edges fly over the boundary for six." Committee members argued players and umpires "were at increasing risk of injury with the ball being bludgeoned off bats at high speed, often with a simple flick of the wrist" (THE AGE, 6/7).
MADRID LAB SUSPENDED: The World Anti-Doping Agency "suspended the accreditation of the official testing laboratory in Madrid." WADA confirmed the suspension in a statement late Monday, saying it "was a direct result of a decision on March 19 to declare the Spanish anti-doping agency, AEPSAD, non-compliant." The suspension "prohibits the Madrid lab from conducting any WADA-related anti-doping activities, including all analyses of urine and blood samples" (AP, 6/7).
OFFSHORE BETTING: Police suspect that Australian punters making huge bets on National Rugby League games "place them with offshore betting companies that are not regulated so as to avoid detection." Corporate bookmakers licensed in Australia and Tabcorp "have not reported any unusual betting trends associated with two games during last season's premiership that are at the centre of NSW Police enquiries into allegations of match-fixing." But authorities "are interested in the volume of money being wagered with overseas operators outside the boundaries of Australian betting regulations, particularly because of their tendency to provide larger limits for big-time punters." In the current matter police are investigating, there "is particular interest in the sharp fluctuations of the market at a major outlet licensed in the Caribbean on one of the matches last season that is being looked at by detectives" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 6/7).
The NRL issued the New South Wales Blues with a "please explain" notice over a series of incidents in the "fiery aftermath to the controversial opening State of Origin encounter." The governing body wrote to the NSW Rugby League seeking its "side of the story in relation to a number of matters, most notably Blues coach Laurie Daley venting over the performance of referees Ben Cummins and Gerard Sutton." Daley and three other NSW officials are said to have sprayed NRL Chief Medical Officer Paul Bloomfield "in the ANZ Stadium tunnel after the match" (SMH, 6/7).
