Prior apologises for smashing window

LONDON: England wicketkeeper Matthew Prior apologized to members of the august Marylebone Cricket Club on Tuesday after accidentally showering them with broken glass in a fit of temper.

Furious at being run out for 4 on the final day of England's second test against Sri Lanka, Prior broke a dressing room window in the Lord's Pavilion, sending glass tumbling down on the neatly dressed members below.

The incident, which left a 30-centimeter (12-inch) hole in the glass clearly visible from the other end of the ground, left a female member with a cut ankle.

"It was a complete accident," England captain Andrew Srauss said. "A dangerous accident because there were people below. But Matt, to be fair, went down straight away to apologize."

The damage was initially blamed upon a thrown glove ricocheting off a kit bag and knocking some bats resting on the windowpane, but England spokesman James Avery said the actual chain of events was far less convoluted.

"Prior put his bat on the ledge where the wall met the window," Avery said. "The bat handle bounced off the wall into the glass and the glass broke."

Avery said the initial explanation had come from someone who had not actually seen the incident. He added that team director Andy Flower had been there and provided the revised version.

"It was an accident and Matt Prior has apologized," said Avery, who added that the England and Wales Cricket Board would pay for the damage if asked to do so by the MCC — which owns Lord's and acts as custodian of the laws of cricket.

The hole was still there at the close of play Tuesday, with Sri Lanka having salvaged a draw, but the glaziers of north London should have it fixed soon.

"They came to measure it up pretty quickly," Strauss said. "It was one of those unfortunate incidents. Matt Prior didn't mean to break the window at all.

"But it was dangerous and we apologized."

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