Cricket: Hooper defends his banned paceman

West Indies captain Carl Hooper defended paceman Colin Stuart after he was barred from bowling for sending down two beamers in three balls on the first day of the second test against Sri Lanka yesterday.

But he refused to become embroiled in a row with the umpires over the decision, which left his side desperately short of bowling.

Stuart managed just one legal delivery and two dangerous head-high beamers at Sanath Jayasuriya before being sidelined for the rest of the innings by umpire John Hampshire.

"Anybody knows that it wasn't deliberate, it was two balls that genuinely slipped out of Colin's hand," Hooper said. "But at the end of the day they [the umpires] have got to make a decision based on the rules.

"When you weigh everything that's happened and think of the total, I suppose it was a good effort by the remaining bowlers."

The touring side, needing to avoid defeat to keep the three-match test series alive after losing the opening game in Galle, had to rely on paceman Pedro Collins and legspinner Dinanath Ramnarine for most of the day, backed up by Hooper's offspin.

Last night, Collins grabbed two wickets in three overs to dash Sri Lanka's hopes of posting a big total on the second day. Sri Lanka, resuming on 193 for five, struggled to 273 for eight at lunch. The lunch to tea session was washed out by rain.

Collins struck in his first over with the second new ball, when he bowled a well-set Hashan Tillakaratne for 87; Thilan Samaraweera went in the next over from Mervyn Dillon; before Chaminda Vaas departed without scoring.

* World cricket's governing body has rejected a request by India to have Mike Denness replaced as match referee for the third and final test against South Africa.

"Given that the ICC [International Cricket Council] is satisfied that all procedures have been adhered to, we cannot agree to this request," chief executive Malcolm Speed said.

"Mike Denness is a former [England] test captain and a very experienced match referee."

The chairman of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, Jagmohan Dalmiya, had said Denness should be stood down after finding Sachin Tendulkar guilty of doctoring the ball in the drawn second test in Port Elizabeth.

Tendulkar, shown on television apparently working on the seam with his fingernail, was given a suspended one-match ban and fined. Denness also sanctioned five other Indian players for bringing the game into disrepute through excessive appealing.

* Wicketkeeper Khaled Masud was named Bangladesh captain yesterday for the two-match test series against New Zealand next month.

Bangladesh have played seven matches since gaining test status last year, losing six and drawing one.

Bangladesh squad: Khaleda Masud (capt), Javed Omar, Al-Shahriar, Habibul Bashar, Aminul Islam, Sanwar Hossain, Mohammad Ashraful, Khaled Mahmud, Enamul Haque, Fahim Muntasir, Mashrafee Bin Murtaza, Monjurul Islam, Mohammad Sharif, Tushar Imran, Hashibul Hossain.

- AGENCIES