The World Cup will cost Britain £270m in economic productivity, as revealed in a report published yesterday. "Although it will not grab the international imagination to the same extent as the soccer World Cup," Douglas McWilliams, the report's author said, "it remains the case that, even to those only half interested, watching cricket is one of the best ways of avoiding working known to man.

"Two of England's matches, against New Zealand on 16 March and against Pakistan on 30 March, are on Friday afternoons and will be very tempting to those who feel inclined to stay on in the pub after lunch."