The involvement of a former Pakistan test cricketer with bookmakers last year forced organisers of the Indian Cricket League to withhold payments.

Former Bangladesh captain Habibur Bashar is stunned by the 10-year ban imposed on him and 12 others for joining the Indian Cricket League.

Shane Bond, one of the world's best and most menacingly quick bowlers, laughs with surprising ease, seemingly undeterred by the fact that he has just been banned from international cricket. If some expected Bond to mourn the end of his Test career as New Zealand begin their tour of England, they might be taken aback.

Cricket faces the threat of the biggest revolt in its history, with elite players ready to call for a breakaway from the International Cricket Council (ICC). Fica, the international players' union, will demand far-reaching reform of the ICC, the global governing body it considers to be paralysed by the dominance of India's Board of Control for Cricket.

Ah, Lord's, that oasis of tradition in a world given over to instant, facile gratification of every which flavour. Yes, dear Lord's, where time doesn't dare move forward one tick unless; where the ungodly clatter of a woman's heels marching to the beat of progress on the pavilion's creaking floorboards causes collars and sphincters to tighten in unison.

Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar said on Wednesday he was offered money to under-perform in matches in South Africa and India but rejected them for the sake of his country. Shoaib, who was banned for five years by the Pakistan Cricket Board on Tuesday for disciplinary reasons, said he was angry at the suspension.

Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq was "shocked and disgusted" by controversial umpire Darrell Hair's reinstatement, but Australia welcomed the move on Wednesday. Inzamam clashed with Hair in the forfeited Oval Test between Pakistan and England in August 2006, which led to the Australian umpire's ban from standing in top-level matches.

The chief executive of South Africa's players' association on Thursday urged axed fast bowler Andre Nel not to make a decision regarding his future in the heat of the moment. Nel was a controversial omission when South Africa's squad for three Tests in India next month was announced on Tuesday.

New Zealand will dump star paceman Shane Bond after he signed for the rebel Indian Cricket League, the country's cricket board confirmed on Monday. New Zealand Cricket has been trying to persuade the injury-prone 32-year-old to stay in the official fold, but no solution could be found.

South African bowler Nicky Boje will not be able to leave India without assisting police inquiries into a major match-fixing scandal in 2000, officials said on Thursday. "We want Boje to join the investigations and although a date has not been set for him to come, he will be asked to assist us before he leaves India," police spokesperson Rajan Bhagat said.