Rana-way

Now this 'breaking news' I will comment on

Yorkshire, it seems, have all but lost their two overseas players for the season, with Pakistan pace bowler Rana Naved-ul-Hasan facing an immediate ban from county cricket after taking part in the unsanctioned Indian Cricket League and South African quick Morne Morkel - signed as cover for Rana Naved - joining the ICC-endorsed IPL, which runs from April 18th-June 1st

Yorkshire, then, are without an overseas player, and time is running out for them to acquire one (or one that's any good, at any rate)

The ECB (having taken an age to clarify things) have explained that anyone playing in the ICL will not be allowed to play in England:

'A cricketer wot 'as played in an un-auuuu-fo-rised event in the 12 months leadin' ap ta April Fool's wiwall not bloody well qualify for registration (wiv a coun'y)'

Rana has a 2-year contract at Headingley Carnegie, but a 3-year one with the ICL (which looks like a distinctly unglamorous competition to me, even with old man Lara's involvement). Yorkshire had warned the follically challenged Rana that, should he play in the ICL, then he could blu-dy well forgit abou' pleyin' fer Yourk-sher, so we can be pretty certain that his Yorkshire career is over before he's bowled a not particularly quick one (duly twatted through the covers) in anger for the county. A lucky escape for Yorkshire, too, if the fellow's previous record in county cricket is anything to go by

Now, that one had been on the cards for a while, but the Morkel situation has come out of the blue. The second set of IPL auctions today saw him snapped up for $60,000 by Jaipur, the side that also chucked a load of cash at Hampshire's 'Aussie Freddy Flintoff' (in that he has blonde hair and so very rarely plays Test cricket for his country, not because he's actually anywhere near as good as Mark Ealham, let alone the Flintster) and Dimitri Mascarenhas

So, Morkel'll miss the beginning of the season playing IPL cricket and then miss the rest of it when he joins up with the South African tourists, whom look likely to club the Vaughan era to a bloody end come late-summer. What will Yourk-sher do? The suspense, I fear, might well kill me