Crucket

With the BCCI offering amnesty to players in the ICL, the one remaining obstacle to the rebel NZ players returning has been breached. With the Indian board allowing their players to return to the fold, they will also drop their objection to NZ players returning to sanctioned cricket if they leave the ICL.

It’s an interesting move by the BCCI. Some are taking it to be an effort to exploit the ICL’s apparent difficulties. I wonder though if it might be an attempt to head the new APL off at the pass.

It has been a while now since the possibility of the rebel players returning arose, with the ICL offering to release the NZ players from their contracts. We’ve heard nothing since then, and it is reported that none of them have as yet taken up the opportunity to jump ship.

Were they waiting for this amnesty before making their move? Tuffey has certainly expressed his interest in returning and with his excellent recent first-class season he’d have to be confident of getting back into the Black Caps. Bond of course would walk into any team. However, he’s choosing his words carefully. He seems to still have his mind on the ICL. His contract is still worth $800,000 – that’s a lot to walk away from. But surely he can expect at least that much in the IPL.

We’ve got to expect that by the end of next month that both Tuffey and Bond will have handed in their ICL contracts and started warming up for the Black Caps.

Following the news that the ICL are offering their New Zealand contractors early release from their contracts (possibly making them elligible for their national teams), the ICL are now suggesting that they expect them to return for their October tournament, presumably to be re-banned.

So they will only be available for a few months. Off season.

A quick squiz at the Future Tours Programme and scheduled tournaments shows that in the window when these players will be uncontracted they will be available for the ICC World Twenty20 (is that the 20-20 world cup again? already?) and a tour of Sri Lanka. Two fixtures. Then back to limbo.

There have been several hopeful stories of NZ’s ICL rebels possibly being welcomed back to the fold due to a reconciliation between the ICL and BCCI. In all of those stories, the hope turned out to be despairing. There would be no reconciliation between the two.

The only credible end to the impasse with the BCCI refusing to recognise the ICL was for the ICL to fold. With the ICL’s cancelling of its March “World Series”, the collapse of the ICL seems to be on the cards. Another strong indication that the ICL is at least shrivelling up is the report that an offer has been made to the New Zealand members of the league that they can be released from their contracts if they choose.

If this report is true, it is a very interesting development. While it might be optimistic to think that gaining release from their contracts would automatically remove the rebel stigma from them (Hamish Marshall has left the ICL but is still treated like a pariah), it is still a necessary step in their rehabilitation.

The NZ players in the ICL are Shane Bond, Darryl Tuffey, Nathan Astle, Craig McMillan, Chris Harris, Andre Adams and Lou Vincent. Astle, McMillan and Harris are all effectively retired or beyond selection. They would have no good reason to ditch their contracts. The other four however are interesting cases. Adams and Vincent would remain potential selections for New Zealand (considerably more so with Bracewell moving on), though they would have to fight hard for places in the squad. Shane Bond is a bit of a mystery. Almost everyone involved in cricket in New Zealand would want to see him back playing for New Zealand. However, he has stated many times that he would not come back even if the opportunity arose. It might also invalidate a lot of the content of his tell-all autobiography. Of course, he hasn’t absolutely ruled it out, to my knowledge, and he could always add a happy-ending final few chapters of leading the Black Caps bowling at the 2011 World Cup and some IPL glory.

If anyone is going to make best use of this opportunity it is Darryl Tuffey. While he is by no means NZ’s best bowler, our heavy artillery is so depleted, he would be welcomed back enthusiastically.