New Zealand Cricket may not be in a hurry to re-induct rebel pacers Bond, Tuffey

Wellington, May 3 (ANI): The New Zealand Cricket Board is unlikely to rush in re-inducting rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) fast bowlers Shane Bond and Daryl Tuffey, as there is a view in certain quarters that cricketers, after accepting all manner of privilege and special consideration from their respective national boards, are happy to abandon both principles and principals at the first sign of a bigger pay cheque.

It is not for the first time that fast bowlers Bond and Tuffey have had questions asked about them.

Will they return to the establishment fold or won't they? Will they be the same threat in their maturing years as they were in their days of pomp and show?

The New Zealand Cricket board will soon sit to discuss whether Bond and Tuffey should face what is euphemistically known as a "cooling off period" before becoming available, although for legal reasons it will almost certainly avoid declaring its hand in such a manner. If it does harbour concerns, it will simply refuse to select Bond and Tuffey for as long as it deems appropriate.

But before the debate even reaches that stage, Bond and any fellow rebels such as Daryl Tuffey who might want to resuscitate their international careers, will first have to provide written documentation to prove that they've severed ties with the unsanctioned ICL competition.

Beyond all that, however, there still seems to be a need to provide a disincentive for cricketers who, after accepting all manner of privilege and special consideration from their respective national boards, are happy to abandon both principles and principals at the first sign of a bigger pay cheque. Can't stop them going, of course. But it doesn't mean they have to be welcomed back like long-lost infantrymen. Mercenaries would seem more fitting.

The ICC family has every right to protect its product. Vultures are now circling above the establishment game on a daily basis, waiting for an opportunity to tear off a piece of the action.

No prizes for guessing why. It's has been estimated that world cricket boards make about a 30 percent net surplus on their operations, which as non profit-making organisations, they plough back into the game at all levels: juniors, umpires, women and coaching.

NZC will hopefully treat its upcoming discussion about the rebel players' status as rather more than a rubber-stamping exercise, reports The Sunday Star daily. (ANI)