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The reckless concession of wides by Scotland's bowlers in yesterday's World Cup defeat by Pakistan at Durham ensured that the bookmakers' Sporting Index would continue to squirm with embarrassment.

Scotland's 33 wides helped to push the tournament total up to 301 from 11 matches by yesterday evening, an average of about 27 per game.

Sporting Index, the leading spread-betting firm, predicted before the warm-ups that between 240-260 wides (about five or six per match) would be recorded in the 42 World Cup games before they realised that the seam bowlers were having problems with the specially lacquered white Dukes ball.

By yesterday morning the prediction had risen to 820-860. Those perceptive punters 'selling' at below 240 were making big bucks, and Sporting Index were anticipating a loss of about £250,000 - an expensive over or two there, Richie. The umpires have not been stricter than usual, and there have been no World Cup directives. Peter Willey, one of the tournament's English umpires, said each official was interpreting a wide in his own way. ``It's hard when the ball is swinging around, I must admit,'' he said. ``Consistency is the main thing.''

Frank Wheeldon, The Daily Telegraph statistician, has worked out the pattern from previous World Cup events:

In 1975, including two matches with no wides at all, the average was 3.3 wides per game (highest: 8); 1979 average 4.4 (8); 1983 average 9.6 (17); 1987 average 10.8 (22); 1992 average 11.9 (17); 1999 average 27 to date (33).

If World Cup crowds are looking for an appropriate anthem to sing, they might try Land of Hope and Glory. All together now: ``Wider still and wider shall thy bounds be set . . . ``