Australian theft linked to cab driver

A taxi driver from Trinidad is being questioned by the local police over the theft of 35 items of equipment, stolen from the Australian touring squad last month.

After the players touched down in Grenada from Trinidad for their last two one-day internationals, they discovered items such as bats, pads, shoes and sun-glasses were missing.

As a result, the Australian Cricket Board filed a US$10,000 claim against Trinidad-based BWIA airlines. However, according to a report in the Melbourne Age, it now seems the theft took place not in the airport, but at some stage while the taxi driver drove the players to the airport that morning.

Acting on a tip, the Trinidad police yesterday searched the suspect's car and found some, but not all, of the stolen equipment. Clint Williams, an airline spokesman for BWIA, said: "This confirms what our internal investigations uncovered earlier, that the theft could not have taken place at the airport." No-one has yet been charged.