The Bond script cricket needs

The ongoing absence of Shane Bond from the New Zealand team due to his ICL career is still a bugbear for some New Zealanders, as John Dybvig writes in the Sunday Star Times.

Bond is a stand-up guy who wanted to secure his financial future for his family by playing for the Delhi Giants. Wow, what a bastard he turned out to be - well, that's the view of New Zealand Cricket, who threw him under the bus. Oh sure, they came up with all sorts of justifiable excuses to hide behind their cowardice: it's the rules, they said, it's the ICC regulations.

Don't make me laugh, it's all about control, power, greed: the foundations of international cricket these days - the players are merely the meat in the money sandwich. And I just love this courageous stand from Black Caps captain Daniel Vettori: "While we would love to have him, the team's probably moved on from that. It has been a long time now."

Since when have the mighty Black Caps "moved on" from having quality players on their team?