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• Majid Haq shocked by ‘paltry’ fine handed to official who racially abused him

  Former Scotland international Majid Haq has described his “shock” at the “paltry” fine handed to the cricket club official who racially abused him.

  Ronald McGregor has been fined £400 and ordered to pay a £20 victim surcharge at Greenock Sheriff Court after admitting acting in a racially aggravated manner which caused or was intended to cause alarm or distress.

  Umpire Haq was called a “cheating Paki” by the 64-year-old scorer during a WDCU Premiership One match between home club Greenock and Stenhousemuir on August 12 this year.

  Sheriff Neil Kinnear said he would have imposed a £600 fine but reduced the penalty in recognition of McGregor’s early guilty plea and claimed it would still be a “significant” financial penalty. The sheriff added that he recognised it was a one-off incident and that McGregor, from Greenock, had offered to apologise to Haq.

  Writing on his X social media account, Haq said: “Today has been a eye opener for many people. Still in shock Sheriff Neil Kinnear gave racist Ronald McGregor a paltry £420 fine. Shows we have a long way to go in the courts & maybe Sheriffs @Lawscot could do with some diversity training themselves. #joke.”

  Haq’s lawyer, Aamer Anwar, said McGregor’s claim through his lawyer that he wished to apologise was “too little, too late, too convenient”.

  Anwar pointed out that McGregor had failed to attend his Cricket Scotland disciplinary hearing and was described after that process as showing “no remorse”. He was banned from attending any cricket matches in Scotland last month.

  Sentencing McGregor, a well-known former player, Sheriff Kinnear said: “I note and accept that you have been a lifelong cricket fan and that as a result of this incident that has come to an end and you have lost the ability to attend cricket matches, which was your passion for many years.

  “At this cricket match you made a racial slur in relation to the umpire of a type which is completely unacceptable.

  “You are no doubt aware of the public outrage that such comments cause.

  “Racist comments are not acceptable to society these days and probably never have been.

  “They are never acceptable in society so I have to mark this with a significant financial penalty.”

  Aidan Gallagher, representing McGregor, told the court the incident was “out of character” for his client, who offered a “sincere apology” for what he said.

  He said: “He regrets it wholeheartedly. He fully accepts it was inexcusable and it has had very significant consequences for him.

  “He had been involved with Cricket Scotland for many years and that’s now at an end, he will have no further involvement in cricket.”

  Previous allegations from Mr Haq and another former international, Qasim Sheikh, led to an independent review which last year concluded the governance and leadership practices of Cricket Scotland were institutionally racist.

• Ben Stokes doubtful for England World Cup opener with hip injury

  Ben Stokes has emerged as an injury doubt for England’s World Cup curtain-raiser against New Zealand on Thursday, with a sore hip placing question marks over his place.

  Stokes reversed his year-long retirement from ODI cricket in order to help defend the title he helped secure in 2019, despite concerns over his long-term fitness.

  The 32-year-old has been struggling with a chronic knee condition in recent years and was selected as a specialist batter for the tournament after deciding to spare his body the rigours of bowling.

  But on the eve of the opening match at the cavernous Narendra Modi Stadium, the biggest cricket venue on the planet with a capacity of more than 130,000, he was still being assessed.

  Stokes has not played since smashing 182 against the Black Caps on September 13 and was the only squad member to play no part in this week’s warm-up victory over Bangladesh.

  Captain Jos Buttler, speaking ahead of his side’s final training session, said: “He’s got a slight niggle with his hip, but fingers crossed that it’ll be good news for us. We’ll see.

  “He’s working hard with the physios and we’ll know more when the guys arrive for training.

  “We’ll make the right call. If he’s not fit to play, he’s not fit to play. If he is, we can make that decision.

  “It’s not the time to take big risks on someone at the start of the tournament. Nearer the end, maybe you do take more of a risk with people’s injuries but it’s going to be a long tournament.”

• Jos Buttler will let England’s white-ball legacy be decided by others

  Jos Buttler will leave it to others to define the legacy of this England white-ball generation as they gear up for what could be one final ODI hurrah.

  Buttler, plus Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood and Chris Woakes, were integral in turning England from also-rans to the first men’s side to hold both limited-overs World Cups simultaneously.

  Eight members from the class of 2019 are in England’s 15-strong squad for the defence of their 50-over crown in India, which starts this week, in what could be an ODI swansong for several in the set-up.

  Retaining their crown would put this England side on a pedestal as one of the greatest limited-overs sides ever, but Buttler insisted leaving a long-lasting footprint is not uppermost in their minds.

  “I feel like legacy is defined by others,” England’s white-ball captain told the PA news agency. “The guys in the team are all excited just about this World Cup.

  “A lot of us have played a lot of cricket together for a long period of time, being part of a really successful side for a long time and we’ve had some really good memories along the way already.

  “Now it’s something new in my eyes, it’s a new World Cup, a chance to try and do something else and win a tournament and have a great time doing it.

  “I don’t feel like we go out there with any added pressure of trying to cement a legacy, we’re just looking forward to the tournament and what will come of that.”

  England played 88 ODIs between the 2015 and 2019 World Cups, revolutionising their approach as the format took centre stage on their priority list and culminated in their unforgettable Lord’s triumph.

  Since that heady July day four years ago, England have had just 43 ODIs and frequently been without their best players as the Test and T20 teams took precedence.

  Joe Root – England’s rock at number three – and Stokes, who has reversed his ODI retirement and will be used as a specialist middle-order batter due to longstanding left knee issues restricting his bowling, have taken part in just 19 and 13 50-over matches respectively since the 2019 World Cup final.

  “Four years ago felt very different,” Buttler said. “We’d obviously had a big change of style of play and personnel in the team – all building towards that World Cup for four years.

  “There was nothing in the way of that and being a home World Cup, I think there were different pressures of being the favourites which we embraced.

  “Whereas going into this World Cup, it’s been a bit different, I think it’s probably fair to say we’re probably not favourites going into this one.”

  Buttler, who succeeded Eoin Morgan as England’s limited-overs captain last year, doubts England’s status as holders of both white-ball World Cups puts a target on their backs.

  “We’ve been a really good white-ball team for a long time now – teams want to beat you, we want to beat other teams as well,” he said.

  “Whether that adds any extra difference to the results, I don’t believe so because we’re just as determined to try and win games of cricket as teams that are trying to beat us.”

  England start their campaign against New Zealand at Ahmedabad on Thursday, the first of nine group-stage fixtures in eight cities that will stretch them physically and mentally.

  Their decision to swap out Jason Roy, so crucial to their 2019 success, and plump for Harry Brook garnered scrutiny, but was based on the Yorkshireman’s flexibility to bat anywhere in the top six.

  Having broken into and established himself in the Test and T20 sides, Brook has been backed by Buttler to make a splash in the ODI team if selected.

  “Harry’s ceiling is so high,” Buttler added. “I think we’ve seen it in international cricket in the way he’s taken to Test cricket, especially. We all know the trajectory his career is on.

  “He was obviously fantastic in the T20s in Pakistan last year ahead of the T20 World Cup and forced his way into that team and he’s one of the bright young stars of world cricket.”

  :: Jos Buttler was speaking to promote Castore, the official kit suppliers of the England cricket team, investing in an extension to its national brand marketing campaign. For more information, visit https://castore.com