ICL woos Gough, Deano out to rope in stars

(Gough ready to come to the party)


The rebel Indian Cricket League gets rolling with Darren Gough, the roly-poly England discard, saying that he is game for the ICL and Dean Jones, distinguished Executive Board member, hinting that he would add some Australian names to the line-up.

Since Gough won BBC’s ‘Strictly Come Dancing’, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) started believing that ‘Dazzler’ is more adept at shaking the leg than hurling the cherry. Gough clung on to his World Cup dream but ECB did not relent. So where he goes from here? Gough said India.

"Of course it (ICL) would interest me, I hope they give me a call. I'm 36 now, Warney and Brian Lara are a year or so older than me, so if there is a chance to play in an older guys' Twenty20 then I'd be up for it," he added.

Gough was referring to reports that claimed Brian Lara, Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne are likely to be part of the circus.

Meanwhile, Prof Deano (Remember his pre-match analysis for an Indian channel? Alas
how low a former cricketer can stoop for a few bucks) is out on the prowl with a ‘hit list’ in his pocket.

Deano, however, sought to make a point when he said "We haven't got as much money as some people think".

Thanks to their scrapped Zimbabwe tour, Australian players have a long break till September and Deano wants to sound out the Aussies to find out if they are game to earn some easy bucks. Ditto with international players without any county cricket.

“There are always concerns about Australians playing county cricket because they play so much, but there will be openings for them to play in our matches. A) they can earn some extra money and, b) it won't be as taxing on their bodies. There are a few lining up," Deano said.

Image: ianvictoria.co.uk