Cricket: Rumoured Flintoff visit no-balled

Some of cricket's biggest crowd-pleasers are eyeing gigs in New Zealand's T20 domestic competition in December.

The first link between a marquee name and a New Zealand province for the HRV Cup came yesterday, with star former England allrounder Andrew Flintoff being associated with Northern Districts.

England's Daily Telegraph newspaper claimed Flintoff, who has been plagued by knee injuries for the last couple of years, was pursuing a £200,000 ($432,000) deal which would have him playing for ND, then shortly after for Queensland in Australia's Big Bash T20 tournament in January.

However, ND chief executive David Cooper said last night that while they had taken a look at Flintoff, there were no negotiations in train.

"His was a name that was part of our list of overseas players and has been someone we were interested in," Cooper said.

However difficulties had arisen on various fronts and "it's something we've not been able to pursue at all".

ND were first out of the blocks last season by signing high-octane Sri Lankan batsman Tillekaratne Dilshan.

He is unavailable this season because of international duty against the West Indies around that time.

Hard-hitting allrounder Flintoff would have been another crowd-puller in similar vein, but as Cooper put it, "We don't think it's going to work out and we have other irons in the fire."

Cooper confirmed there had been more feelers put out on behalf of the higher-profile international players by their agents ahead of the coming season than in previous years.

"There has been a lot more interest in our competition, which is great in terms of its credibility but also recognises how significant the Champions League is in the bigger picture," Cooper said.

The winning New Zealand province goes to the lucrative Champions League - Central Districts are off to India shortly for this year's edition - along with the major nations' best domestic sides.

Any overseas players who have appeared for that team are eligible to play for them in the Champions League.

The domestic schedules are expected out this week. The T20 will be in December, the one-day competition in January, with the first-class Plunket Shield competition bookending the limited-overs tournaments.

One possibility is teams looking to hire imports for part of the T20.

Chief attraction among those could be Pakistan, who arrive shortly before Christmas for their lengthy tour.

T20 hero Shahid "Boom Boom" Afridi would be a prime candidate for a short pre-tour assignment before pulling on his green national cap.

Others in the frame would be Australian T20 specialists, like opener David Warner or middle-order players David Hussey and Cameron White.