What's Going On? Best v Rest has a ring to it

Shoaib Akhtar, Makhaya Ntini and Shane Bond bowling for the same team against Australia? Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara and Marcus Trescothick batting on the same side? That could be the teasing prospect to emerge from the International Cricket Council's cricket committee - management meeting this week in India.

A series of matches involving the No 1 ranked teams on the Test and one-day rankings, both being Australia at the moment, against the Rest is on the cards, in a one-off Test and a three-match one-day series, and there could be no doubt that it would be a huge headline grabber. It would have outstanding marketing appeal, and could prove as valuable as the ICC Champions Trophy as a money spinner for the world body.

The matter is to be discussed over the next two days by the respective chief executives of the cricket boards of the world. But a mountain of issues are likely to face the organisers of such an event. Where would it be held? What time of year would it be played? What would the international players' association FICA, which has been quite hot on player overload, think of the idea? What would be the level of player payment? Would the Test match be regarded as an official Test? Who would select the Rest of the World team? Would they be truly allowed to pick the best team, or would there be politicised selection with representation from all other countries? Then there's the matter of individual player sponsorship arrangements. All sorts of potential there for problems.

It is anticipated the series would be played every two years. In some ways it could be likened to golf's Ryder Cup or President's Cup matches which are regarded as hugely significant personal achievements if not financially lucrative to the participants. The game's administrators will need to achieve a degree of unanimity on the matter because it is not the sort of event that can be developed and then under-mined by bickering between cricket nations.

Should it be deemed a worthwhile exercise, the ICC cricket committee - management would have to make a recommendation on the matter to the full committee of the ICC. It could also be the perfect chance to institute a trophy that could make the series a genuine contest. Perhaps the Test matches could be played for the Bradman Trophy and the one-dayers for some suitably regarded virtuosos of the one-day game.

_________________________________________________________

Not flavour of the summer this year. That's the situation with New Zealand's indigenous cricket derivative Super Max. It is absent from the domestic programme and has hardly raised a peep, in fact this reference to it may be the first in print. WGO is not averse to being first with the news.

In cricket diplomacy-speak, the hit-fest that was Max is a victim of New Zealand Cricket needing to prioritise its products this summer. But in more correct terms read it as a response to the ICC's with-holding of monies due New Zealand from the World Cup over the refusal to play in Kenya.

With the applaudable decision to develop a much more constructive A team programme, and to develop the State of Origin concept as part of the finals weekend of the State Shield, something had to give, and it looks like Max is it.

Apparently Max will still be used as a development tool at junior level, but given what has happened with the introduction of Twenty/20 in England this year, it may be that it becomes more in vogue with administrators. Max had its detractors, but WGO still reckons the sight of batsmen blasting a straight shot over the boundary for a 12 was one of the more thrilling sights in the game.

_________________________________________________________

Did New Zealand Cricket get more than it bargained for when picking up Ashley Ross as its player development manager? The Victorian is shaping as one of the sharper minds on the international coaching front. He doesn't only think outside of, he seems to do everything possible to avoid even getting into, the square.

His methodology to prepare New Zealand for Indian conditions was given another airing a few weeks ago, but it wasn't new. He first helped players get ready for India by simulating conditions at NZC's High Performance Centre at Lincoln University two years ago before the A team went to the Buchi Babu tournament.

Such is Ross' capacity for analysis and observation that it would not surprise if more than a few surprises emerge during the tour of India. While he is filling in for new coach John Bracewell on the tour, there is a real prospect of some exciting chemistry developing between the pair when they get the chance to work together. Bracewell has long been known for his competitiveness and for looking to make the best out of his New Zealandness.

Some overseas people may not understand this phenomenon. Put simply, it is an "us against the rest of the world" attitude. That's "us" in lower case, not like that other country which is considerably bigger which has its "US" in capital letters and sometimes with an A on the end of it. It means that because of its population base of only 4 million, New Zealand doesn't have the resources to match the rest of the world in a straight contest. It has to employ cleverness, innovation or forward thinking.

And it has been very successful. That is why it has one of the highest gold medal success rates at the Olympic Games per capita, and that's why it could beat the NASA-inspired Americans to take the America's Cup off them in 1995. It was also why New Zealand shut Australia out of their own VB Series finals in 2001-02. Of course, when strategies have not been employed the results have verged on disaster, which is why the America's Cup is no longer in New Zealand. However, WGO says 'Watch this space" as far as Ashley Ross and his bag of tricks is concerned.