McCullum move shows there are no rules in Twenty20
In the Age Greg Baum writes that in Twenty20 every team has its price
Peter English
25-Feb-2013
In the Age Greg Baum writes that in Twenty20 every team has its price. In Australia on Saturday night Brendon McCullum, the New Zealand wicketkeeper, will play for New South Wales in another major change of protocol.
Nothing is against the rules in this self-proclaimed brave new cricket world, because there are none. In most sports, some sort of eligibility criteria apply. In Twenty20, McCullum can make his debut for New South Wales in a final.
In most sports, a final means something. In Twenty20, today's means nothing, since both states already have qualified for the Champions League. New South Wales did not even bother to pretend that it had recruited McCullum for the purposes of winning today, but as cover for the massively lucrative Champions League, should it ever be staged.
In most sports, a man can belong to only one team at a time. In Twenty20, farcically, McCullum might find himself eligible for three in the Champions League, from three different countries; not even amoral soccer would allow this.
Peter FitzSimons tells in the Sydney Morning Herald of his disgust for New South Wales’ idea to hire McCullum.
Just how bad do I hate it? So bad, sooooo bad, I say, that I am prepared to quote Andrew Symonds because for once he is right on the money.
Mike Coward, writing in the Australian, covers how the relationship between Cricket Australia and its states has been tested over the past week.
Adam Parore says in the New Zealand Herald the deal must surely have opened the critics' eyes to the direction cricket is taking.
Peter English is former Australasia editor of ESPNcricinfo