New Zealand losing control
Dylan Cleaver writes in the Herald on Sunday that the Shane Bond-ICL saga is proving just how much sway the Indian board has over New Zealand Cricket.
For all intents and purposes, they are playing puppeteer while NZC jiggles. This, apparently, is the brave new world of New Zealand Cricket - where we become a subsidiary of the BCCI. That chiselling sound is the engravers at NZC's offices, changing the brass-plate from New Zealand Cricket to Board of Cricket Control India, New Zealand Division.
"Neither have actually been sanctioned by the ICC. It seems to be something that people have run with and not corrected. The IPL has only been sanctioned by the BCCI and the last time I looked they weren't the governing body of world cricket. While NZ Cricket is very eager to do as the Indian Cricket Board says, it should be careful it doesn't devalue the international game by putting out a weakened team."
Brydon Coverdale is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo. He tweets here