SO Widnes Vikings are the Championship club who will be joining Super League with a licence for 2012 to 2014 – much to my personal disappointment, because I was backing the Cumbrian cause.

While Widnes were always the favourite to take the slot in rugby league’s top flight, it is about time that the game’s authorities started appearing to be bothered about nurturing the grassroots.

While the RFL and Super League love to expand – bringing in teams from London, France and Wales – there are times you do wonder whether they have forgotten about the heartlands of the game and the clubs who get youngsters involved in playing the game in the first place.

Of the heartlands the most sinned against is Cumbria who, since Workington Town’s exit from Super League at the end of the inaugural season in 1996, have not been represented at the top table despite having a strong amateur and youth set-up.

Making their pitch for Super League were obviously Barrow and, while the arguments for Widnes and Halifax stepping up were perfectly laudable, it would have been great to have a side from the rugby league mad area of Cumbria playing with the big boys.

Maybe next time.

OF ALL the weird excuses I have ever heard the explanation for the ‘racist’ banana throwing incident at the Emirates during the Brazil v Scotland match has to be right up there with the best.

Apparently the said piece of fruit that arrived on the playing area in the vicinity of Brazilian goal hero Neymar was launched by a German tourist – which apparently is okay.

A statement from host club Arsenal said: “A German teenage tourist has admitted throwing a banana on to the pitch. The Metropolitan Police is satisfied there was no racist intent and have confirmed that no further action will be taken.”

Aside from adding fuel to the fire by doing the obvious racial stereotyping and pointing out that it obviously wasn’t a Scot as it was fresh fruit and not deep fried (Frankie Boyle for some reason can get away with gags like these), to me this raises a number of interesting points.

Firstly, in all the years I have been attending football matches I can honestly say I have never taken fresh fruit along to a game (though this might say more about my poor diet).

Secondly, I have also never felt the urge to hurl any object on to the field of play.

So I am amazed to discover that German tourists think nothing of attending football matches to indiscriminately throw the contents of their fruit bowl on to the grass – though I suppose I really shouldn't knock it until I’ve tried it!

But it does kind of give anyone who can claim tourist status carte blanche to have fun hurling things on to the field of play – so excuse me while I book a flight to Paris for the next France home game (by the way do snails need individual tickets for the flight?)

IT SEEMS to have taken a very long time for cricket’s World Cup to reach a climax but at least for once the right two teams are in the final.

Tomorrow’s showdown in Mumbai pits co-hosts India and Sri Lanka in what has all the makings of an absolute classic.

Throw into the equation the fact that Muttiah Muralitharan will be making his last international appearance and that India’s little maestro Sachin Tendulkar (pictured) could also be bowing out in terms of the World Cup – after all he is now 37-years-old – it would be wonderful to see these two go head-to-head.

Injury could stop Muralitharan (who learnt everything he knows playing for Lancashire, honestly) from taking part which would be a crying shame as the tournament does need a fittingly dramatic climax.

Personally I would settle for a two-run margin of victory and I really don’t mind who wins – so come on India!