Good for the goose ...

... but not good for the gander

NZ went into their game against Australia yesterday minus two of their key players Shane Bond and Jacob Oram. On Thursday NZ coach John Bracewell confirmed that Oram would be fit for next Tuesday's game against Sri Lanka saying: "Yes. That's one of the reasons why he's not playing. It's a precautionary thing.”

"He had it (the injury) for a period of time during the home series. The diagnosis is that the initial impact is the worse case scenario, but he's been able to nurse it through. All of a sudden it's got a little bit more serious, so we've just got to take it easy.” However, Bond did not play despite Bracewell confirming he was not planning to rest Shane Bond for today’s match. No explanation was given as to why Bond did not play.

That was on Thursday, but come Friday and Shane Bond did not show up; nor did the critics who took umbrage at Sri Lanka resting Murali and Vaas in their line-up against Australia.

There was no reaction from either the Australians or the critics who earlier this week lambasted Sri Lanka for playing Australia without Vaas and Murali. Ricky Ponting, not one known for shedding tears, felt sorry that Oram missing out on Friday was a big loss for NZ but he showed no such sympathy for Sri Lanka last week.

The reaction – rather the lack of it - demonstrated the double standards adopted by those critics who virtually accused Sri Lanka of devaluing the game and opening up the game for corruption. We have not heard Ian Chappell calling for Condom to go into the NZ dressing room to ask what was happening. Not one of them has said this time that the fans were getting cheated.

Earlier this week Holding informed cricket fans that he had personal knowledge of how the gambling market worked as he had an account with Betfair. Proceeding to pronounce judgement he had this to say: "I think what it does is allow people who know what is happening to get a head start if they are gambling". We have not heard from Mr Holding up to now. Perhaps he would let us know how the market reacted to the omission of Bond and Oram.

Mr Holding’s interest in betting and the fact that he has an account with Betfair raises all sorts of questions, such as whether it is advisable, if not proper, for a commentator to indulge in betting on the outcome of games on which he comments. After all, Mr Holding is likely to have access to sensitive information by virtue of his privileged position.