Australian Cricket Facing Kiwi Invasion

Two people is hardly a crowd, much less an invasion. However, when you consider that the said invaders come from a population of about 3.5 million, you begin to understand the use of the term "invasion".

I was very surprised to learn that a country that has dominated the international cricketing landscape so handsomely and convincingly for the last decade is finally looking beyond its shores.

Australian players and coaches travel to distant lands in the hope of making a good buck and maybe helping out the locals here and there. Very seldom in the past two decades has Australia made any attempt to invite aliens into its cricketing fraternity. The only two souls that spring to mind are Murray Goodwin and Graham Thorpe, but anything other than charity could not possibly explain their presence in the domestic structure.

If the Australians do consider anybody worthy of their recognition, and only in extremely hush-hush tones, it is likely to be a New Zealander. In this context it is not all that surprising to learn that John Wright is the preferred choice as Australian Academy coach after Tim Nielsen took charge of the big boys (I've spoken to some girls that would use less flattering adjectives, but we won't dwell on that).

Furthermore, in an even more bizzare series of rumours it is held that Black Cap Lou Vincent, of "hunt like pack of dogs" fame, is lobbying for a contract with South Australia. What's more, he might even get one. The world really is turning upside down.

The hitch in Vincent's pertains to certain clauses in New Zealand Cricket's central contracts that prohibit anyone other than a contracted player playing for the national team - or something to that effect.

If this is the case, I would proffer that the said clauses need to be immediately and irrevocably expunged from the concerned documents. The only system in which spectatorship of domestic cricket increases around the world , is one where all cricketers (especially the stars) are allowed to offer their services to a domestic team, anywhere on the planet. Much like the football model, I hear you say - exactly.

Then again, cricket's administrators are proficient at doing little else other than screwing up whatever little is right about the game. Therefore, I would almost drop dead if I heard anything approaching a fresh and innovative model emerging from any of these esteemed organisations.

In the meanwhile, go the Kiwis: