KEY POINTS:
The deal that is being done to allow Shane Bond to play for big money in the ICL in India should trigger major concern at New Zealand Cricket.
Although NZC is still trying desperately to retain Bond for the shorter versions of the game, I think the horse has bolted without Justin Vaughan getting the opportunity for too much input. It appears that NZC is trying to put together a competing package which includes an IPL contract, allowing Bond to wind up his test career, continue to play Twenty20 and ODIs for NZ and Twenty20 in India for part of the year.
This is a significant concession and hints at desperation, which is sad for NZ. The alternative is worse, however, and may become ugly if Bond or another automatic choice decides to test the ICL "ban" by litigating a restraint-of-trade case.
This would be a nightmare for NZC and one they cannot afford to expose themselves to. The courts are extremely tough on restraint clauses with anything over 12 months being almost impossible to enforce.
Given the NZC restraints are for life, they have almost zero chance of succeeding. You cannot stop someone from making a living.
As a consequence Vaughan is tip-toeing around the issue in an effort to keep the BCCI happy (they control the money) and to avoid a situation where a player calls him out and forces a court to rule on the restraint issue.
Such a ruling would set a precedent which would apply to all and could result in everyone being free to play wherever they want, for whoever they want, and NZC having to pick them on merit. While this is not the end of the world for NZC, it is a significant departure from the current scenario where they call the shots on who does what and not one Vaughan would relish.
For Bond it is a simple decision - the only sensible one for him and one that, when you really think about it, should have taken him about five minutes to make. He'd love to continue playing test cricket for New Zealand but the fact is his body is simply not up to it. His NZC contract is worth about $120,000 a year as a retainer with the chance to earn a further $100,000 in match fees. But he's missed so many games through injury he has only been earning about $150,000 a year. Now he can earn $1 million for bowling four overs a day and the opportunity to pace himself and his broken body to get another four to five years out of himself without having to deal with all the drama over his injuries. He has a young family to think about and a limited time left in the game.
What the Bond issue shows is that NZC has a pile of problems that it didn't have six months ago, problems that threaten to distract it from its real purpose, which is to find and foster young talent.
The landscape is changing and the emergence of the ICL in India will result in cricket moving in the same direction as rugby, soccer, league and American football, where the clubs pay the players and the game is concentrated in those areas where there is a big fan base, TV backing and financial support. The clubs will become the ones running the show and it will be the clubs releasing players to appear for their country rather than the other way around as it is now.
It is significant that Bond has elected to go with the ICL. This decision will not have been taken lightly and is a big vote of confidence in their set up. The ICL has staged a tournament, it has broadcasting deals, and given its other revenue streams it is almost certain it will be around for the terms of the players' contracts to pay their wages. At this stage the IPL is just a good idea that hasn't got off the ground and there are lots of those.
* I don't expect the test against Bangladesh to go much past three days. It will be more of the same after the ODI in Queenstown.
Their batting confidence fell apart and for Brendon McCullum to then take them apart in six overs was extraordinary. They are even further off the pace than they were when they arrived. Teams that start a tour poorly tend to get worse and that's what I expect to happen.
McCullum's innings again showed that he has great potential and he is improving rapidly. The next step up for him now is to replicate that type of dominance against England and the other big guns. He's capable of being one of the best in the world and is well on his way to showing that he really can be another Adam Gilchrist.
The Black Caps should be in a positive mood going into the series against England. They are getting runs and wickets now so they should be feeling pretty good.
It is also encouraging that the selectors appear to have shown good sound logic in the changes to the test team. They have worked out how they want to play and chosen a side to implement their plan. Picking a team is not about selecting the best 11 players, it's about picking the 11 guys who can best implement your plan.
