IF THE news that her twin brother Philip had been discarded from Glenn Hoddle's World Cup squad was one of the worst moments of Tracey Neville's life, then her appearance in England's colours at the Commonwealth Games promises to be one of the best. As a precocious youngster she declared to her father that she was going to be the best in the world, and unlike so many of her fellow British sporting contemporaries she delivered the goods.Although her chosen sporting career has not given her massive riches or fame it has given her the chance to travel the world and play a game she is still in love with.Buck herself is competing in the individual, women's doubles and mixed doubles, giving her three opportunities to add a gold medal to her trophy cabinet at home in Guildford. But she, and the rest of the four-strong English team, Gemma Burden, Richard Hood and Wayne Greenhall, will have their work cut out in Kuala Lumpur, especially against the host nation.The Malaysian ten-pin bowling squad have been given royal support and have been in training for more than a year for the Commonwealth Games, but the country has still not named its team.It is rumoured that the Malaysians, for whom ten-pin bowling is a major sport, have spent more than pounds 250,000 to produce a team capable of winning only their second medal ever at the Games.That sort of money is only a dream for Buck, who is still an amateur, and sandwiches 15-20 hours of practice a week (every afternoon) around the demands of her family and part-time job."Malaysia are very strong and along with England, Australia and Canada they are the favourites to win the medals," Buck said."You can never say you are going to win a gold medal but I personally feel that if we don't come back with a medal I will be very disappointed.". "I remember back in 1993 when Sally Gunnell won her athletics titles and was plastered everywhere in the papers and on the television and I had just won a world title but nobody seemed to notice."But I suppose I get my privacy and can walk down the street and nobody knows who I am. I remember when I was world champion I was out shopping and a young boy was with his mother and he was saying he had seen me on television and his mother turned around to him and said: 'Don't be silly, people on TV don't shop here, but in Harrods'," she recalled.Buck started bowling at the age of nine when her parents used to take her to the local centre in Streatham and she took to it so well so early that she was a full England international by the time she was 14. Her CV includes winning the World Cup title twice, in 1981 and 1993, the World Games title in 1993, and numerous European and British titles. The sport has been given full medal status for the first time at this year's Commonwealth Games, which means that Buck at last can display her talents to a wider audience.The popular conception of ten-pin is as a leisure activity enjoyed by families on the weekend, but it has been a demonstration sport in two Olympics and is one of the fastest growing sports in the world.Buck has spent much of her career putting up with detractors saying her sport isn't really a sport at all Next month she can start to get her own back. "Everybody says that it is not a proper sport, but a lot of people play it and we have world championships and tournaments around the world," she said.For Buck, who turned down a scholarship to play in America after winning her first world title, the lack of recognition at home did rankle when she was younger but she says she is older and wiser now."It did used to upset me that I don't get the recognition," Buck said.

"I'm not sure whether I'll be sticking to that, though." After all, things like alcohol bans never happened in her day.. PAULINE BUCK is not - yet anyway - a well-known name outside the close-knit family of her sport, but she is one of England's brighter hopes of a gold medal in Kuala Lumpur.. The 42-year-old housewife and part-time tele-sales operator has been the No 1 ranked ten-pin bowler in England for the last seven years and has an impressive array of titles. "Because of the heat, we've been told not to drink any alcohol at all while we're out there," said Margaret with a chuckle.

In most sports, such elevation at so tender an age is regarded as downright precocious but in swimming, which has seen 15- year-olds win Olympic gold medals, it is almost a case of arrested development.However, Karen, whose parents, older brother and boyfriend have no involvement in the sport apart from enthusiastic support, believes that this relatively late arrival gives her the chance of extending her career beyond what is normal at this level. With Giggs also moving into their attacking zone, the impression was of an over-abundance of players looking for the same chance. Cole, though, was always the most likely to find a way out of the confusion of United's own making. Shortly before half-time he made enough space to force a fine deflecting save from Shaka Hislop whose intervention was just as important as a crucial block by Keane on Hartson as he bundled through the United guard.In an effort to bring about the width upon which United traditionally rely, they altered Giggs's role in the second half, asking him to remain further left and to run at Andrew Impey. That depended on United's midfield winning sufficient possession, which they found difficult.

Beckham was far from dominant, and Nicky Butt not at his most tenacious.Doubts over the wisdom of West Ham obtaining Ruddock may only be answered in the longer term, but here he brought them a powerful extra defensive link. His superb interception of Yorke early in the second half was the stuff of experience and typical commitment.United's answer to their inability to get their front men into seriously threatening situations was to replace Cole with Teddy Sheringham - height for dexterity, almost an admission of failure for a team intending to match the most skilful sides in Europe.Deep into the second half, Ruddock continued to get an outstretched foot to all manner of dangers. They tried to get some money out of us to go Malaysia but we told them that if that was going to be the case we wouldn't go."This is not the only dictum which the team management, clearly more at home issuing instructions to callow teenagers, will struggle to enforce. In addition, we pay all our expenses when we compete internationally and you also have to buy your own uniform. "The club I play at in Ballymoney is 22 miles away and Belfast is a round trip of more than 100 miles.