World Cup Notebook Shunned by England, Twose shines for New Zealand Click here for more on this story Posted: Monday June 14, 1999 12:17 PM   Roger Twose (right) celebrates with his teammate after New Zealand beat India to advance to the semifinals of the World Cup. AP LONDON (AP) -- English newspapers were loaded Monday with a story about the one that got away. While the England cricket team was still reeling after its first-round elimination from the World Cup, a player who was shunned by England selectors was ensuring New Zealand's progress to the final four. Roger Twose, who played seven seasons with Warwickshire in the English country competition, never figured in calculations for the English team. The Devon-born batsman is New Zealand's leading scorer in this campaign and his unbeaten 60 against India on Saturday ensured his adopted land qualified for the semifinals. He also helped the Kiwis to an upset win over trans-Tasman rivals Australia with an unbeaten 80 in a group game. But Twose, who married a New Zealander, is not completely lost to England. One national newspaper said Twose has given "England at least one representative in the semifinals." Pay day Former test wicketkeeper Jack Russell is the only English cricketer headed for a lucrative pay day on World Cup grand final day at Lord's. The Gloucestershire captain, who lists his career outside cricket as "professional artist", has been commissioned by a tournament sponsor to produce commemorative paintings of the June 20 finale. The commission is reportedly worth more than the English players would have received for reaching the final. No. 1 status With the three leading runscorers out of the tournament, Australian skipper Steve Waugh assumes the No. 1 batting status going into this week's semifinals. Waugh, who scored an unbeaten 120 against South Africa on Sunday to ensure his team qualified for the finals, was ranked No. 4 in the standings behind Indian pair Rahul Dravid and Saurav Ganguly and Zimbabwe's Neil Johnson. Butwith India and Zimbabwe eliminated in the second round (Super Six), Waugh leads the tournament batting standings with 342 runs from seven innings. There's no such problem at the top of the bowling standings. New Zealand's Geoff Allott will be looking to extend his record 20 wickets this tournament when the Black Caps take on Pakistan at Old Trafford on Wednesday. Pakistan has four bowlers among the tournament's top bowlers wit Saqlain Mushtaq (16) in No. 3 spot, Azhar Mahmood and Shoaib Akhtar sharing No. 6 place with 13 wickets a piece and Wasim Akram close behind with 12 wickets. Prize money New Zealand cricketers will share a total prize pool of almost one million New Zealand dollars ($546,000), or about 70,000 New Zealand dollars ($38,000) per man if they win the World Cup. The Black Caps line up against Pakistan in a semifinal at Old Trafford on Wednesday to battle for the right to advance o the June 20 grand final at Lord's. The potential windfall includes $300,000 first prize plus a 450,000 New Zealand dollars ($246,000) insurance bonus from New Zealand Cricket. Under the insurance taken out by NZC before the team's departure to England, if they finish runners-up there will be a bonus of 270,000 New Zealand dollars ($147,500). Killjoys Cricket authorities at Trent Bridge who urged spectators not to stand or make "excessive noise" during New Zealand's Super Six win over India on Saturday have denied being "killjoys." Accused of ruining the "Carnival of Cricket" atmosphere with a series of ground announcements basically telling the crowd to sit down and shut up, Nottinghamshire Cricket officials say they were simply trying to get a fair balance for all fans. "We wouldn't want to be seen as killjoys because we wanted everyone to enjoy the carnival of cricket," said Notts chief executive Mark Arthur. "We had complaints from people who had spent a lot of money on tickets and their day was being spoilt" by noisy supporters and people standing in front of them, Arthur said. Profits At the completion of the last World Cup -- jointly staged in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in 1996 --many competing nations had a common complaint. What happened to the profits? With millions of dollars being shelled out for television rights, everyone expected a bumper slice of profit which never arrived. No great fuss was made but there were quiet protests to the International Cricket Council. The protests have obviously hit their mark because the ICC has confirmed that for the first time in seven World Cups, the tournament's finances will be independently audited. Infringement The companies who sponsor cricket's World Cup are jealously guarding their rights. And they're not afraid of using the police to settle any infringements ofthose rights. Telecommunications company Vodafone has the branding rights for the "four" and "six" placards which are distributed to fans at World Cup venues to wave around when a batsman hits a boundary. But when The Times newspaper started distributing similar signs at a game in Taunton, Vodafone officials called in the police and the unsanctioned signs were quickly removed.   Related information Stories Steve Waugh rescues Australia, advances to semis India inconsistent, mentally exhausted Multimedia Click here for the latest audio and video Search our site Watch CNN/SI 24 hours a day Sports Illustrated and CNN have combined to form a 24 hour sports news and information channel. To receive CNN/SI at your home call 1-888-53-CNNSI. Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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