“Technically speaking, a player doesn’t have to be registered with a county to be eligible for England. But, practically, it’s in the best interest of the player and the England management that he is registered with a county” – so the spectre of Freelance Kev may be some way off yet, if the ECB has any say about it.
“The pioneer years of Twenty20 are over. For the counties it is time to start swimming or sink like a stone. The IPL teams’ revenues are hindered by one obvious problem – they only play for a tiny fraction of the year. All of the franchises will, naturally, be looking to expand to become year-round operations. That is the natural course of remorseless profit-logic, and the biggest single force for change in cricket at the moment” – The Guardian’s Andy Bull on the implications of the Rajasthan Royals’ incursion into the home counties.
“Cork seized his chance for one last hurrah on a ground where he has often excelled by going on to dismiss Matt Prior for a duck as well as Chris Nash in a bristling opening spell” – Vic Marks gives his Friends Provident Trophy match report.
“The Sunday Telegraph understands that the 60-year-old Zimbabwean is close to accepting his first job since resigning from the England post after the World Cup in April 2007″ – news that Duncan Fletcher is about to join Hampshire’s coaching staff.