Sometimes it is hard to know whether to channel the rage or let apathy wash over you.

Last week, when the news emerged that some Black Caps had sought and had been granted extensions before signing the central contracts offered to them by New Zealand Cricket, was one such occasion.

They want some “clarity” around dates for the New Zealand home summer - specifically the much-anticipated tour by Australia. On the surface there’s not much wrong with that but the subtext was fairly obvious - they want to make sure it doesn’t cut across their Indian Premier League commitments.

This is the modern reality, apparently. But think about what’s wrong with this scenario: NZC chief executive Justin Vaughan and his Australian counterpart James Sutherland are being pressured into coming up with an itinerary for what should be a marquee series between transtasman rivals that does not prevent players taking full part in a competition in which teams are owned by Bollywood actors and beer makers. Read more…

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I have hardly been watching cricket for the last two weeks. The blame lies, in part, to the overkill of T20 with the IPL and the ICC World T20 over the last ten weeks. So, the India-West India ODI series was a little bit of a washout for me. And I am not referring to the rains and thunderstorms that the players had to brave!

I have been reading a little bit about cricket, though. I had time to read the Colin Cowdrey Memorial Lecture delivered by the former Aussie wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist late last month. Gilchrist tried to get the attention of administrators towards some of the key issues that the cricket world is faced with.

For those uninitiated with cricket history, Colin Cowdrey was a former English captain, the first in history to play 100 Test matches and ended his cricket career in the mid 1970s. He was known as a gritty batsman who later went on to become a successful thinker for the game, who helped modernise the game. Read more…

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Cricket’s short avatar, Twenty20, has opened doors of opportunities for number of young players all over the country. From the Indian Cricket League to the Indian Premier League, every youngster is getting a chance to show their cricketing skills.

Now, T10 too is providing a similar platform to talented youngsters.

T10 Gully Cricket will be played in its second edition from August 15 all over India. The most interesting aspect of the tournament is that it provides opportunity to young cricketers from tier 2 cities as well. These cricketers otherwise suffer because of lack of exposure.

“This is the best platform for the budding cricketers in small cities as they will get a chance to explore their cricketing skills,” remarked former India cricketer Sandeep Patil, who is one of the jurists in the four member panel comprising Madan Lal, Saba Karim and Charu Sharma. Read more…

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Andrew Flintoff is ready to make his comeback for England on Wednesday, confident he can help “enhance” an already developing side.

The burly all-rounder has not played for his country since April, having undergone surgery on a knee injury sustained during the Indian Premier League.

He returned to action for Lancashire at the start of June, though, and has shown good form with both bat and ball since.

A match-winning knock of 93 from just 41 balls - the highest score by a player batting at five in the history of the Twenty20 Cup - against Derbyshire highlighted exactly what he is capable of and the 31-year-old cannot wait to play for England again. Read more…

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LONDON: June 13, 2003 to June 2009 has been a long journey indeed. Twenty20 had just saved English domestic cricket from the sport that is No.1 to 10 in Britain - football.

Stuart Robertson, who was the marketing manager of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), introduced the format to bring in new and young audience into cricket stadiums. It soon became a raging hit. Read more…

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