Putting price tag on WAFL

Has the WAFL got a deal for you.

For just $75,000 you and 21 others can throw on the footy gear and pit your skills against a band of State league players.

But wait, there's more. The scores don't count but you do get to play with a Burley, not a Sherrin.

That is the scenario being tossed around by some WAFL clubs as Fremantle and West Coast continue their push for local reserves teams.

Some clubs are coming around to the notion their teams can play the Dockers and Eagles seconds during their bye rounds. Funny how the bye - along with its creator Peel - was long despised by the old guard. Now there's a chance for some added revenue the rest week becomes a wonderful financial opportunity.

There is a push for WAFL clubs to seek $150,000 a season each from the AFL reserves deal. As some clubs could be restricted to two matches due to complexities of fixturing that figure can be broken down to $75,000 a game for some local league outfits.

As the average turnover of a State competition club is around $1.5 million, the AFL reserves licence fee would soon become a significant item on boards' balance sheets.

The figure thrown up by a few presidents is certainly larger than the $60,000 the two AFL clubs offered last year.

Now the WA Football Commission is facilitating negotiations it seems a WAFL-AFL arrangement will happen. It is now a matter of how and when.

Little appeal for the Mankad

Even the name thrust on the deed sounds sinister.

Mankad could well be the villain of a James Bond script. The man in question wasn't. He was an Indian bowler who became entrenched in cricket history for performing a perfectly legal deed in a Test match 65 years ago.

Vinoo Mankad's act - running out Australian batsman Bill Brown after he backed up too far at the non-striker's end during a 1947 Test - created one of the biggest taboo subjects in the game. Only the spectre of match-fixing is treated by cricket followers with more disdain.

Another Indian, Ravi Ashwin, discovered just how much of a touchy subject the Mankad is when he tried to replicate the deed by running out Lahiru Thirimanne in the one-day clash at the Gabba last Tuesday.

But why is the Mankad so despised? After all, if it is within the laws of cricket to dismiss a batsman for being out of his crease what is the problem? And clause 42.15 states, the "bowler is permitted, before entering his delivery stride, to attempt to run out the non-striker".

There is no mention of warnings. No suggestion a player would be scorned if he/she did so.

However, the Mankad strikes at the sense of decency in cricket, the so-called "spirit of the game" officials like to talk about to make fans feel all warm and fuzzy and believe the contest is above board.

No one can doubt the message from Cricket Australia this week.

While the national selectors have recently been criticised for their efficiency in communication, they were loud and clear about their views when releasing the latest Australian team.

Unfortunately for Ricky Ponting it is a line he probably doesn't want to hear.

Retirement is never nice for a hostile participant. The bitterness can erase much of the glory of past service.

The move by the selectors to dump Ponting from the national one-day team - thus ending his international limited overs career midway through a series - was blunt and brutal. It told everyone that Australian cricket is moving on.

Maybe Ponting didn't get the gist of what was in the selectors' minds a few months ago.

At 38 and with shaky form over the past two years it seemed obvious Ponting's days were numbered. There was a call for him to put the bat away after a strong finish to the Test series with India. It was the chance to go out on top. On his terms.