The Surfer

''I got death threats from them,'' he says. ''They say I am promoting a Western culture and bringing kids out of their homes for recreational activity and if you continue this it might be really difficult for you. ''I quit coaching, but I got [picked] for [first-class] cricket and the matches were all around Pakistan. When I started performing, they said, 'You are still involved with cricket and promoting Western culture. If you come back to home, or wherever you are, we will find you.' I am happy that I am a good Muslim. I am doing nothing contrary to Islam ...

... Simon Helmot, coach of Melbourne Renegades in the Big Bash League and of Victoria's one-day team, has often enlisted Ahmed as a net bowler. While the two overseas spots at each BBL team will go to stars such as Chris Gayle and Shahid Afridi, Helmot said that if Ahmed could be picked as a local, he would be considered. He has also attracted interest from Perth. ''Our batsmen found him a real challenge,'' Helmot said. For Ahmed, that is ''the dream''.

Warney is a mate and a great cricketer but it is funny to hear him call us confident and arrogant. Pot and kettle come to mind. Also, I have not heard anyone, former England player or current, predict a 5-0 win, like a certain GD McGrath used to do. This is because England know this Australia side will test them to the limits. I do not take them lightly either now that Michael Clarke and Mickey Arthur are in charge. They will produce good, well-drilled teams and from what I am hearing they have that in-your-face confidence that came naturally to good Aussie teams of the past.

I don’t think creating clear windows for all T20 leagues is realistic as this could create a situation where there is little time left to schedule international cricket. What I do strongly believe, however is that the ICC and its Member Boards need to develop a holistic schedule that takes into account all international cricket and the key domestic T20 leagues. We need to find a way to ensure international cricket and these T20 events co-exist and not compete.

The list, compiled by New Zealand Cricket's director of cricket, John Buchanan, and national selection manager Kim Littlejohn, was fraught with inconsistencies. Buchanan is the New Zealand Cricket supremo. The Queenslander had great success with the Australian team, but then again he did have Warne, McGrath, Gilchrist, Ponting, Clarke, Hayden, Langer, Gillespie and Lee to call on. New Zealand cricket risks being taken over by Australians.

This tour is a chance to look at options. It is a trip of opportunities for several players. McCullum's absence will thrust more importance on a handful of players at, or near, the top of the order. Rob Nicol made a decent fist of his limited-overs opportunities last season against Zimbabwe and South Africa. Daniel Flynn has the ability to be more than a first-class grafter. Spinners Ronnie Hira and Tarun Nethula get their opportunities to build on a taste of international action last summer.

There is no reference to cricket anywhere around this part of the world. The sports news is dominated by the appropriately named Miami Heat; recently crowned NBA champions for 2012. Their star, LeBron James, seems to have his face everywhere. Miami is 45 minutes drive from where we are in Fort Lauderdale so all around this region they are sharing in their basketball triumph. Yesterday, 25,000 people packed into downtown Miami for the victory parade.

From a strip of concrete on the scrubby plain of a refugee camp in Pakistan came this new force, the players celebrating every step of their unprecedented journey and taking nothing for granted. They started playing against Japan and Jersey in Division Five of the ICC’s world league - and this weekend, four years on, they will arrive in Dublin to play one-day internationals against Ireland, the strongest country outside the Test-playing nations.

‘It gave me a lot more time to work on very basic stuff that had crept into my game and hadn’t been there the last 12-14 months. When the news came through that I’d been dropped for the tour of Sri Lanka, I was like, well, I’m two places away from the Test team, and it never changes that much, so it’s highly unlikely I’ll play in the first half of the season. That was the consideration for me. I decided to go to the IPL. Because at that stage I was nowhere. So I needed time to work on my game and go back to stuff I know works for me. Every time I’ve come back from the IPL, I’ve come back a better player. So it wasn’t the money? Again, I can’t argue with the fact that whenever I’ve come back I’ve been a better player,’

A few former England players and commentators on the game don’t think Australia have any bowlers and are a batsman or two short; combine that with England’s current form and record in England at present and it equals a walk-over when they resume battle on Friday. We know the public line from the England camp will be, “We won’t take Australia for granted”, but deep down there will be a feeling of superiority. I just sense they might under-estimate this Australia team of young players. I also believe this Australian team will give England something to think about before the Ashes next summer in England.

There was a larger point to the lecture delivered but was undermined by the contradictions, sweeping generalizations, blanket statements and factual inaccuracies that formed the edifice on which a very valid point resided. The lecture did not advance the discussion on the current state of affairs within cricket but instead drove an additional wedge in to an already polarized cricket world. People who already had established views that aligned with the general theme of the lecture felt emboldened that a speaker at such a magnificent platform was taking up their cause, and those who began the day thinking that the speaker had an axe to grind would have walked away from it with their notions reaffirmed.

He explained that one of his reasons for aligning himself with Packer was to secure the future for himself and his family. Clearly self-interest was a significant factor. Yet here he was beseeching India to put aside self-interest – or at least immediate financial gain – for the greater good of the game. In simple terms Greig's analysis was this: that India holds the future of the game in the palm of her hands. Everything hinged on India's willingness to apply the "spirit of cricket" and to make some financial sacrifices along the way, a simple analysis but also an alarming one.