While some of the keener players head for the gym, those less inclined to physical activity set up card schools. The lengthy sessions behind closed doors test the patience of even the most fervent autograph hunter lurking in the lobby.Even Michael Atherton, confident that his side would have batted themselves into a strong position, said he thought the weather “frustrating,” before moping off to his room to watch a film, the only entertainment on offer before Jason Gallian arrives sometime tomorrow to regale the team with his 30-hour odyssey from Peshawar in Pakistan, where he’d been playing with England A.Unusually, Gallian has already been guaranteed a place in the top three for the fourth Test in Port Elizabeth, which starts on Boxing Day, though he may yet open, with either Atherton or Alec Stewart dropping down to No3.This leaves Mark Ramprakash with little to play for, unless someone breaks a finger, and he has already been told by Illingworth that he will not be considered again at No3 for the rest of the tour – an indication that the poor lad is likely to be twiddling his thumbs even when the rain stops.(Third day of five; South Africa won toss)SOUTH AFRICA – First Innings 225 (P Martin 4-60).ENGLAND – First Innings(Friday: 123 for 5)G A Hick not out 31D G Cork not out 23Extras (lb4, nb7) 11Total (for 5, 188 min, 48.1 overs) 152Fall: 1-2 (Atherton), 2-13 (Thorpe), 3-83 (Smith), 4-93 (Stewart), 5- 109 (Russell).To bat: J P Crawley, M C Ilott, R K Illingworth, P J Martin.Bowling (to date): Donald 12.1-1-57-2 (2nb), Pollock 15-2-39-0 (4nb), Matthews 12-5-31-3, McMillan 9-3-21-0 (1nb).Play abandoned for day because of rain.Umpires: S A Bucknor and D L Orchard.TV Replay Umpire: K E Liebenberg.Match Referee: C H Lloyd.. So far nearly five playing days have been lost to the weather – a damp state of affairs which has decimated both profits and public interest, after 9,000 advance seats had been sold for the weekend.It is sorry news in a country which says it is trying to control an addiction to one-day cricket – a claim not entirely convincing after the Natal Cricket Union revealed a R225,000 (pounds 40,000) loss of profit, a sum not covered by insurance, which is only taken out to protect one-dayers.Inevitably, the gloom permeates everywhere, as people are forced to seek unplanned entertainment. Everything can look suspicious, but only the umpires can tell if the ball’s condition has been altered.The one thing that has not altered so far in this Test series has been the scoreline, which remains becalmed at nil-nil. That would have knocked flat any seam he had just lifted, making the whole exercise pointless.Referees in rugby union are constantly pointing out that a penalty offence occurs at every line-out, yet common sense rules the day and it is the same when bowlers get a ball in their hands.

Craig Matthews, who on the basis of some fairly inconclusive film of Friday’s play bore the brunt of newspaper and television allegations, brought a ball with him to a press conference to demonstrate how a personal habit had come to be misconstrued as picking the seam.
It was as if an expert witness had turned Queen’s Evidence, as he told the assembled throng about his method of running a dampened thumb along the side of the seam in order to smooth out any scuffs or marks that may have accrued on the shiny side of the ball. As the match referee, Clive Lloyd, said after studying video footage earlier in the day: “It is something and it is nothing. I trust my umpires implicitly and we don’t think there is any case to answer.”He is right. If Matthews had picked the seam to gain an advantage, he would not have negated it by immediately bowling a loosener at mid-off, as television pictures show.

Not a single ball was bowled at Kingsmead yesterday, as rain washed out the fourth day’s play of this Test match. But even another wash-out did not prevent the little red projectile from briefly stealing centre stage, as ball-tampering’s latest storm briefly gathered momentum and then blew itself out in time for lunch. Ebbw Vale: Try Bamsey; Penalty Hayward; Drop goal Hayward.Penarth: C Miller; A Hurford, C Wilkins, D Paris, C Howells; C Lakin, I Fifield; G Swaine, T Henson, A Pyman, S Crothers, M Edwards (capt), N Baxter, J Allen, D Williams.Ebbw Vale: D Worgan; N Morgan, C Price, I Lewis, J Bamsey; B Hayward (capt), M Boys; A Phillips, S Jones, W Ford (M Sibthorpe, 72), D Medlicott, E Moores (K Jones, 52), B Watkins, J Williams, P Hudson.Referee: N Whitehouse (Swansea).. A monstrous 45-metre drop goal from their acting skipper Byron Hayward apart, the visitors did not make the best use of the elements.A try on the stroke of half-time, worked on the narrow side of a five- metre scrum, at least enabled them to turn around with their noses in front, but it was only a matter of time in the second half before the minnows hit back.A Miller drop goal eight minutes after the restart launched the victory drive and two more tries from the outstanding pack added some style to the windy proceedings.Scorers: Penarth: Tries Crothers, Swaine, Allen, Williams; Conversions Miller 2; Penalty Miller; Drop goal Miller. It will be a great day for the club and a great chance for a number of our players to prove a point,” he said.Both first-half tries came from ex-Cardiff men, the lock Simon Crothers and the prop Greg Swaine, and there were 0 points from the boot of another old blue and black, the full-back Craig Miller. More of the same next month could help to make it three wins in a row over their big city neighbours after victories in friendlies this season and last.While a triumph for the Third Division underdogs was always a possibility, it became a virtual certainty when they changed ends just one point in arrears after Edwards had chosen to play into the teeth of a near gale- force wind.Ebbw Vale failed to take any meaningful initiative up front and were unable to shake the Penarth resolve.

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It is going to be something of an old boys reunion on 20 January when Penarth face Cardiff in the fifth round of the Swalec Cup. “We were concerned about what the defeat would do to our image. We were left wondering whether they relaly knew themselves.”If the alarm bells were ringing then, they were positively chiming after the European Championships in Copenhagen in January 1994, when T & D claimed the gold medal by the narrowest of margins, and only after the most underwhelming reception.”We hardly considered it as a victory at all,” Torvill said. That was the reward for the Seasiders from their greatest moment in 25 years of otherwise extremely thin, and often embarrassing, fortune in the cup.
Having been beaten by some of the lowliest clubs in the Welsh Rugby Union, as well as a number from outside the official ranks, to come away with such a convincing victory over a First Division side will have had them dancing down the promenade on the Penarth seafront.No doubt the prize of a fixture against Cardiff played heavily in the pre-match team talk from one of seven former Arms Park men now in the Penarth ranks, the home captain, Mark Edwards.”We certainly had one eye on the next round tie against Cardiff. Replacement: G Isaac (Gala) for Browne, 7.Referee: S Lander (RFU).n Melrose collected their fifth Scottish championship in seven seasons when Stirling County beat Heriot’s FP only 34-14 on Saturday Stirling needed to win by 43 points to retain the title..

Replacement: C Aitken (Heriot’s) for Simers, 55.SOUTH OF SCOTLAND: S Welsh (Hawick); C Joiner (Melrose), D Grant (Hawick), S Nichol (Selkirk), K Suddon (Hawick); C Chalmers (Melrose, capt), G Armstrong (Jed-Forest); M Browne (Melrose), J Hay (Hawick), S McColm (Selkirk), R Brown (Melrose), I Elliot, B Renwick (Hawick), G Weir (Melrose), S Bennett (Kelso). South: Tries Isaac, Elliot; Penalties Welsh 6; Conversion Welsh.EDINBURGH: C Simmers (Edinburgh Academicals); F Henderson (Watsonians), S Hastings (Watsonians), D Wyllie, N Penny (Stewart’s-Melville); A Donaldson (Currie, capt), G Burns (Stewart’s/Melville); G Wilson (Boroughmuir), G McKelvie (Watsonians), P Wright, D Burns (Boroughmuir), S Murray (Edinburgh Ac), B Ward (Currie), D Clark (Stewart’s-Melville), R Hoole (Edinburgh Academicals). But some things never change, for in his first match after a six-week suspension for dissent Peter Wright was marched back 10 metres for talking out of turn.Edinburgh: Tries Henderson, D Burns, Hastings; Conversions Donaldson 2; Penalties Donalson 3; Drop Goal Donaldson. Darren Burns secured such quality possession at the front it was astonishing to find them trailing 10-15 at half-time.Edinburgh at least could point to the only try, Fergus Henderson going over after three minutes. Altogether the lead changed hands four times and Edinburgh started the second half with an equally quick strike, Darren Burns going over for a try.Welsh regained the advantage with a penalty and conversion of a try by Gary Isaac before Donaldson’s goal-kicking and a Scott Hastings try left Welsh having to convert a try by Ian Elliot from the touchline for victory.For the first time in 14 attempts he failed.