Mascarenhas Joins Jaipur

Mar 11 2008 By George Dobell, Chief Cricket Writer (Birmingham Post)

It is often stated that it takes time and hindsight to pinpoint the key moments in history, but it seems safe to state that Dimitri Mascarenhas’ decision to sign for the Indian Premier League (IPL) is a momentous day for English cricket. Mascarenhas became the first Englishman to sign up for the Indian cricket board’s (the BCCI) Twenty20 tournament when he was snapped up for £50,000 by Jaipur. He will miss several weeks of the county season in 2008 and much more in 2009 and 2010.His county, Hampshire, claim they are happy with the compromise. Just as they did when Shane Warne, their captain, told them he had changed his plans and would only be available from August.In truth they are probably sick to their stomachs. But there’s little they can do. Such are the sums available, that Mascarenhas and Warne could simply walk away from county cricket if forced to make a choice.Hampshire will, at least, be compensated for the time he is away. As a result they will issue Mascarenhas with a ‘No Objection Certificate’, freeing him to play in India. As he is not centrally contracted, the England and Wales Cricket Board are not required to approve.Hampshire say that Mascarenhas will only miss a couple of weeks of the season. Fraser Castellino, the CEO of the Jaipur franchise, told a different story, however and says Mascarenhas “will be available with us 100% for the first season.”Hampshire also seem sure to lose Shane Bond. The New Zealander has signed for the ‘unofficial’ Indian Cricket League and looks set to be banned from all other forms of the game. Sussex pair Mushtaq Ahmed and Murray Goodwin are among the other players facing similar bans; a scenario that would vastly weaken the champions.The news about Mascarenhas also raises grave doubts over the ECB’

s policy towards the leagues. While they have taken steps to ban any player involved in the ICL, they have tried to appease the Indian board by passively supporting the IPL.