Jesse Ryder has a new weapon with which to attack the Indian bowlers but he isn’t planning on using it just yet. His new sponsor Gray-Nicolls gave Ryder a double-sided bat and some space-age helmets on Wednesday, the Dominion Post reported.

The bats, according to Gray-Nicolls' Cameron Black, “created quite a storm” in Australia after David Warner hit Shaun Tait on to the roof of an Adelaide Oval grandstand. Ryder, however, wasn’t so keen and did not plan to bat with it just yet. “I'm not the best player to be reverse-sweeping, so I don't practise it,” he said. “But I'll give it a go in the nets and see how it goes."

Exchange of bodily fluids be damned, Craig McMillan will replace Ravi Shastri in the commentary box for the Napier Test. Despite the Indian board’s numerous attempts to resist any contact with any member of the banned Indian Cricket League (ICL), it looks like this one is unavoidable.

Former New Zealand batsman McMillan, who captained the Kolkata Tigers in the ICL’s first season, was set to be part of Sky TVs commentary panel for the second Test between India and New Zealand. Sky had been warned that using McMillan would upset Sony Entertainment, which holds the rights for all cricket televised out of New Zealand.

Niranjan Shah, who was India’s tour manager for the one-day series, issued a veiled threat just before he left New Zealand saying, “As far as we are concerned, any commentator or anyone involved with an unauthorised tournament declared by the BCCI, our people will not take part in it.” Shah’s statements caused much furore in the New Zealand media with him being labelled as a ‘travelling goon’.

But Sky TV have decided to go ahead with McMillan. Sky's acting executive producer for cricket James Cameron said he did not believe Sky should be "dictated to" about who should be part of their commentary panel. Who would have guessed that Shastri’s decision to return for a birthday party in India during the Napier Test would cause such a stir?

Cricket tours are hectic, with weeks passing by in a blur of venues, hotels and airports. So when you get a chance to unwind, you take it. The Indians did precisely that on the eve of the fifth ODI in Auckland. Having already won the series, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Paddy Upton, India’s mental conditioning coach, headed out for a deep-sea fishing trip. Rahul Dravid went with them. Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh and some others chose a walk in the sky at the City Sky tower while Zaheer Khan attempted to climb the harbour bridge. Coach Gary Kirsten, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra, Gautam Gambhir and Munaf Patel settled for the more laid-back entertainment provided by a dolphin and whale safari.

You rarely find the Indian team in any state of anxiety these days, such has been their on-field form, but there was palpable tension when they boarded the bus at their hotel en route to the airport for the flight to New Zealand early on Thursday. It had nothing to do with the much-debated playing conditions nor with the seaming tracks; instead, it was a missing team-mate that broke through even Mahendra Singh Dhoni's zen-like calm. Everything seemed routine till team manager Niranjan Shah started the head count. There was then a hold-up and, as the players gazed towards the team hotel's entrance, the motley crew of fans and journalists sensed something - or someone - was missing.

The minutes dragged on and the smiles disappeared; finally, Gary Kirsten got out and asked the hotel staff to check on the missing man, now identified as Dinesh Karthik. Not in his room, Kirsten was told, to which he replied, "Then we will leave without him." He headed back to his seat and, seconds later, Karthik emerged and ran towards the bus with a sheepish grin. He boarded to the sound of slow-handclaps and choicest abuses. His team-mates obviously weren't going to waste such an opportunity and let him go scot free: as soon as he got on the bus the entire team, including Kirsten, greeted him with claps and later a few players had a select few words for his late arrival. Karthik's return to the Indian squad has started on a 'late' foot but at least he went one better than Bryce McGain - earlier this week the Australian legspinner missed an internal flight and travelled separately to South Africa late.

Perhaps the BCCI does have a heart - as if in sympathy for their team captain's fear of heights, the board has included bungee-jumping in the list of banned activities on their tour of New Zealand. Mahendra Singh Dhoni had been invited by Tourism Auckland to bungee jump off the Harbour Bridge as a way to “see the city in all its glory” but he can take refuge in legalese. "Our tour contract does not allow us to do bungee jumping,” Yuvraj Singh responded to a question from an incredulous Harsha Bhogle at a sponsors' event in Mumbai.

Or perhaps the BCCI has taken lessons from cricket history - trace your memory back to the Tiger Moth incident involving David Gower and John Morris and you’ll know why it’s better to stay firm on the ground. It’s no secret that New Zealand is a haven for adventure sports lovers and the temptation to flirt with the wild side is sometimes too hard to resist. During India’s 1998 tour of the country, commentator Charu Sharma bungee jumped in Queenstown and the cameras were there to cover it.

After racing a plane, training with commandos, winning the Twenty20 World Cup and beating Australia in Australia, what can our bored hero do to spice up his life? How about jumping off a bridge? Should be easy now that Tourism Auckland has invited Mahendra Singh Dhoni to bungee jump off the Harbour Bridge as a way to “see the city in all its glory”.

Graeme Osborne, Tourism Auckland’s chief executive, said he wanted the Indian players to "experience the best of what Auckland has to offer” when they tour the city for a one-day game in March. But it’s a tall order since the Indian captain has confessed to being afraid of heights. Perhaps Virender Sehwag, his deputy, can step in instead.