Following Panasonic Toyota Racing's historic Formula 1 debut in the Australian Grand Prix two weeks ago, in which Mika Salo finished sixth and earned one World Championship point, the team is now preparing for Malaysia - round two of the 2002 Formula 1 season.

The Malaysian Grand Prix is held at Sepang International Circuit, a 30-minute drive from Kuala Lumpur. The race has been on the F1 calendar since 1999 and, unlike Melbourne, Panasonic Toyota Racing goes there with some prior knowledge. It conducted a four-day test at the 5.543-kilometre track last autumn, with both Mika and Allan McNish driving two TF101 test cars.

Since the excitement of Melbourne, the majority of the team has been getting acclimatised to Malaysian life. The team spent a day in Melbourne to prepare the three TF102 cars for the seven-hour flight to Malaysia before flying to Kuala Lumpur themselves for a well-earned break.

Mika and Allan also flew to Pangkor Island (Malaysia), where they spent 10 days at a training camp in preparation for the hot and humid conditions of Kuala Lumpur. For the drivers this is the most physically demanding race of the year, in which they can expect to lose more than three kilos of fluid.

Ove Andersson: "After such a tremendous result in Australia, we must not expect too much from this race in Malaysia. Everyone in the team did a great job in Melbourne, but we must not put too much pressure on ourselves in Malaysia. This is only our second race. Allan was very unlucky to be taken out at the first corner last time and my main aim at Sepang is to get both cars to the finish. That would be progress and it would help in our evolution as a team."

Mika Salo: "I still look back at Australia and smile. The result took a couple of days to sink in, but it was a big deal for the team and me. As for Malaysia, it would be nice to finish the race again. The heat will put a lot of strain on the car and us, the drivers, so just getting to the chequered flag will be an achievement in itself. In the past two weeks we've done a lot of training in the heat, so I hope we'll be ready for it."

Allan McNish: "While Melbourne was a great result for the team, it was very disappointing for me. Qualifying was disrupted by rain and I didn't make it beyond the first corner in the race. At Sepang I hope to get a proper weekend's running under my belt - a full qualifying session and a race distance. As for the heat, I know it will be hard but I think I've experienced similar conditions in sportscars. In those enclosed cockpits it can get very hot sometimes, so I'm sure I'll cope this time around."

Mika Salo's lap of Sepang: "The thing that you notice most about Sepang is its width. The track is much wider than any other we visit and, as a result, you don't get an impression of speed from the cockpit. The track itself has a number of fast corners, particularly turns 5 and 12, which are quite testing and exciting. But, if it's overtaking you want, then look no further than the hairpin at Turn 15. We always get a good welcome in Malaysia from the fans and the facilities at the track are good, so I always look forward to going there." the official announcement.

Steve Bucknor Named in ICC Elite Umpires Panel Leading West Indian umpire Steve Bucknor was today named among the eight best umpires in world cricket, after being included in the ICC's new full time Elite Panel. In alphabetical order, the full line up of Panel members is:

• Steve Bucknor, West Indies
• Asoka De Silva, Sri Lanka
• Daryl Harper, Australia
• Rudi Koertzen, South Africa
• Dave Orchard, South Africa
• David Shepherd, England
• Russell Tiffin, Zimbabwe
• Srinivas Venkataraghavan, India

Commenting on the appointment of the game's leading umpires, ICC Chief Executive Officer Malcolm Speed said: "The constant, high pressure demands of international cricket means that umpiring at the highest level now has to be a full time profession, rather than a part time job. The eight men chosen to join the Elite Panel are all proven performers at Test level, who command the respect of the captains and players."

Two umpires from the Elite Panel will stand in all future Test matches and there will be one member standing with a home umpire for One Day Internationals. All Test match captains were asked to make nominations for the Panel on behalf of their teams. These contributions were given serious consideration in making the final choices from the current panel of 20 international umpires.

The other major factor in choosing the Panel was the marks achieved by individual umpires over the past four years. These are the marks awarded by captains at the end of each Test match, which assess the umpire's performance against a range of criteria.

"Umpiring is one of the toughest tasks in international sport and this panel represents the best decision makers in the game. Their skills will help improve the overall standard of umpiring at international level and set an example for the next generation of top class umpires to follow," said Malcolm Speed.

Final selection of the Panel was made jointly by Speed, together with Sunil Gavaskar, Chairman of the ICC's Cricket Committee-Playing.

England's Peter Willey was originally invited to become a member of the panel but after considerable consideration declined the invitation citing family reasons: "I was delighted to be offered the opportunity to be a member of ICC's Elite Panel said Willey, however, I would be required to be away from my family for a considerable amount of time if I took on the role; with this in mind I have decided that, at this stage of my career, I must put the needs of my family first."

On average, each member of the Panel will stand in 12 Test matches and 15 One Day Internationals, a potential on-field workload of 75 days per year.

Umpires have agreed two year, full time contracts with the ICC and will meet together for the first time at the Referees and Umpires Workshop near Cape Town, South Africa from 21st to 24th March.

This intensive induction programme will include seminars covering legal and procedural matters relating to cricket discipline, IT training, the psychology of decision making, a presentation from the ICC Anti-Corruption Unit, medical, fitness and media training.

The first series to be played under the new system of Elite Panel umpires and Match Referees will be the triangular tournament in Sharjah starting on 10th April and involving Pakistan, Sri Lanka and New Zealand.

This will be followed by the West Indies v India Test series in the Caribbean beginning on the 11th April and the Zimbabwe v Australia Test series starting on the 13th April.

An Indian publishing house has sent me a copy of a new paperback book it has just brought out on sport.

With it came a note that said: "We take pleasure in presenting you with this review copy and ask that you please send two copies of your views to our offices."

I seldom, in fact, I have never reviewed a book in my weekly commentary on ISPORTS. In fact at this time the station does not have a book review time slot, but I am certain, Tony, Dale, Jerome and Ian will work on that in the future . So in this case, I am going to make an exception.

The book is called " If at first ....." with a subtitle that says,"With the exclusive inside story of how the Indians are planning victory in the upcoming test series against the West Indies"

The authors are Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble . Actually , they didn't write it - some professional ghostwriter did. But the words and the story originated from them. I will begin my review by saying that this is a very solid book.

The moment I opened the package and saw what it was about, I threw it against my office wall as hard as I could.

Then I slammed it to the floor and jumped up and down on it. I beat on it with a chair for several minutes until I slumped onto my couch, emotionally and physically drained. Although slighlty scuffed, the book was still intact.

It is also a book that can cause excitement. I dropped it on the desk of a friend who has had a Queens Park Cricket Pass for the last ten years and it stirred him to emotional heights and he shouted :

"Why are you giving me this so and so book , with the writings of (deleted) Tendulkar, Dravid and Srinath, who really cares about the so and so Indians and so and so India, the whole so and so members of the West Indies Cricket Board that continue to allow this so and so rubbish to happen. And so and so you too."

Then he flung it against a wall and gave it a kick, and it still was intact, I told you it was a solid book.

It's a book that can move a sensitive reader to tears, as I noticed when I passed the book onto a old lady who adores West Indies cricket and has been travelling to matches since the

1950's, but who since 1995 has been seeing only darkness in West Indian cricket

When she looked at the cover, she choked back a sob, a tear trickled down her cheek and she said: " Why them ? Why not us ? What was our sin? How can we atone for it? You know I asked the pundit about this, and he said he wished he knew the answer to , because he loss $100 betting against them."

And it is a powerful book as reviewers like to say, it can hit you right in the gut, as I experienced when I showed it to a former West Indies player who said ," Excuse me, while I throw up ."

But enough of generalities, let us consider the contents of the book.

On page five of the book, Sachin or Sunil or Kapil or a ghostwriter says ," We had the West Indians covered early, those guys like a party , and they made it easy on us, from that victory onwards we have not looked back...boo hoo who to the Bajan protagonists who want their players on the team."

On another note, Can anyone explain Why Darren Ganga, Didnath Ramnarine and Meryvn Dillon missed the crucial match against Guyana which we lost and why Dillon continues to still be missing in action.

It is also STRANGE bordering on peculiar that BRIAN CHARLES LARA WAS AWARDED THE SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR for the fourth time due to his performance in Sri Lanka. It seems that the young Daryl Browne will have to more than be the best in his age group in the World as well as helping T and T to their first medal in relays.

Again it seems that Lara's name has allowed our weak administrators to shun athletics when that is the only sport that is showing progress internationally. Anyway Lara can take another jump up , because he has once again been able to pull the wool over people's eyes.I noticed though his hands look strong enough to hold the trophy. Browne will be back and all the better for this.

World Cup organisers have encountered yet another international embarrassment with a South African newspaper publishing sections of the confidential tournament schedule.

On the eve of New Zealand's decision today whether they want to continue as World Cup sub-hosts, The Cape Argus revealed that the 2003 World Cup would begin on October 3 when defending champions Australia play Argentina at the Olympic stadium and finish at the same venue on November 15.

It also explained that October 11 would be the "most important date in South African rugby history" since the Springboks won the Webb Ellis trophy on home soil in 1995. On that date, South Africa are scheduled to play England at Subiaco Oval, Perth, in an encounter that is bound to determine the winners of Pool C.

The document said South Africa would start their World Cup campaign in Perth on October5 and later play in Canberra on October 22. However, as there are serious doubts whether Canberra will stage a match, the document may be an early draft.

The document listed the Australian cities to get World Cup matches. They are Sydney, Gosford, Perth, Brisbane, Townsville, Adelaide and Melbourne.

According to the document, in other pools, Australia are seeded with Argentina and three qualifiers, while second seeds France are pooled with Scotland and three undetermined qualifiers.

World Cup scheduling leaks are not new, with the Herald revealing the 1999 draw the day of the official announcement.

Fans of Australia's frontline paceman Glenn McGrath should tune into the latest edition of the ICC Cricket World TV programme (Saturday, 9th March, 8:30am Channel 4, UK). A profile of the Aussie great is featured in the programme; a timely inclusion as the programme coincides with the start, in Cape Town, of the second Test of the three match series between South Africa and Australia- a key series in the ICC Test Championship.

Along with the McGrath feature the programme takes a look at the England camp in New Zealand, as the team prepare for the imminent Test series against the Kiwis; opener Marcus Trescothick providing the main interest.

The world of cricket beyond the international sphere also makes a significant contribution this week, with a look at European Indoor Championship - part of ICC's Development Program.

Cricket action is provided with highlights from Delhi, as India and Zimbabwe meet in second and final Test of the series.

Shane Warne heads into his 100th Test on Friday as the most successful slow bowler in history but with a strong feeling he'll be usurped before too long.

Not only does Warne hear the footsteps of Muttiah Muralitharan closing fast behind him on the Test wicket-takers' list, the Victorian has come out with the bold prediction that the controversial Sri Lankan will cement his place in history in an almost unimaginable fashion - by taking 1000 Test scalps.

Warne, who has 436 wickets in 99 Tests, has been tipped by his captain Steve Waugh to go past the only man in front of him, West Indian paceman Courtney Walsh, who retired with 519 wickets, and reach 600.

If Warne maintains the rate of dismissals he has had since returning from shoulder surgery in January 1999 - 3.84 a match as opposed to 4.67 before the injury - he will need to play 43 more Tests to fulfil Waugh's prediction, about four more years. He is now 32.

Muralitharan has been scorching towards Warne on the bowlers' list, in January becoming the fastest of the seven men to have reached 400 wickets, in j

ust 72 Tests. Muralitharan, 29, has 408 at about 23.5 - which works out at 5.6 a match. This makes Warne's prediction at first seem a little fanciful.

However, it should be considered that it took the off-spinner 27 Tests to reach 100 wickets and that since then each century of scalps has taken him an average of only 15 Tests.

Six-hundred more wickets would then take 90 more Tests, which Muralitharan could achieve by the age of 38 or 39, which is feasible considering the small amount of wear and tear his bowling causes his body.

"He'll end up with a thousand I reckon," Warne said. "He's probably got at least seven years left." Muralitharan was called for chucking earlier in his career, by Australian umpires Darrell Hair and, later, Ross Emerson.

While he was cleared to play, many in the game, particularly outside Sri Lanka, feel an asterisk beside his name on the wicket-takers' list would be appropriate.

Warne, who reinvented leg spin after its many years out of vogue, takes a diplomatic view on the action of the man who will most likely take his place as the game's most successful twirler.

"Whether he throws it or not is irrelevant. I just think he's a wonderful spin bowler and he's been fantastic for Sri Lanka," said Warne, though adding he could see some problems with the way the Sri Lankan bowls.

"I think the most disappointing thing about his action is that because there's been so many constant doubts, anyone growing up who tries to copy his action will probably get told to change his action when he gets a bit older, say 10 years on from where he started.

"If that happens, we might lose someone who's very special."

Panasonic Toyota Racing tested the TF102 in a two-day session at Paul Ricard Circuit in the South of France after its first-ever participation in a Grand Prix race. Test driver Stéphane Sarrazin carried out his first test for the team. He concentrated on electronic set-ups, launch and traction control system, as well as new engine specifications. Additionally new aerodynamic parts were tested.

Driver: Stéphane Sarrazin
Track length: 5.875km
Total distance completed: 851km
Weather conditions: Sunny with a few clouds on Thursday. Bright sunshine on Friday.

Panasonic Toyota Racing will move to the Circuit de Catalunya for its next test session after the Malaysian Grand Prix. Drivers will be Ryan Briscoe on Wednesday 20th March and Mika Salo on 21st and 22nd March.