Boyd Rankin and Niall O'Brien have both been offered contracts to play in the Twenty20 league set up by the Indian television station Zee.

"I've been offered a contract", revealed Rankin to Inside Edge this weekend.

"I hope to be in a position to sign it next week." O'Brien also confirmed that he had been offered a deal to join one of the six clubs being set up by Zee.

The ICL has been recruiting actively in recent weeks, with former test players Kapil Dev and Tony Greig the public face of the league. Last week they announced that they had signed up 44 Indian players and seven from other countries, including former Test captains Brian Lara, Mohammed Yousuf and Inzamam ul-Haq. South African spinner Nicky Boje is also contracted, although Shane Warne and Mark Butcher have denied they will be joining the league.

The Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) have moved swiftly against the usurper, threatening to ban those who play and sacking Kapil Dev from his post as head of the national cricket academy. Pakistan will also ban what they call 'rebels', but the English board are yet to take a stance on the affair.

ICU chief executive Warren Deutrom said he hoped to talk to the players this weekend to discuss the implications of their move for Irish cricket. "As far as we're concerned we would like to ensure they remain available for Ireland. There are lots of games coming up with the Intercontinental Cup, ODIs etc, and we would like to ensure the players know what is entailed as regards their time and availability."

The Indian board is strongly opposed to the league, and might be expected to ask the ICU to sanction the players. "We don't have our players under contract so I'm not sure what we could do. But the BCCI haven't contacted us yet", said Deutrom.

Rankin made a welcome return to county action last week as part of the Derbyshire side that beat Glamorgan in a thriller at Cardiff.

"It was a great win", Rankin said, as his side entered the top three slots and are now in a dogfight with Ed Joyce and Eoin Morgan's Middlesex side for promotion.

Rankin failed to take a wicket but was delighted to play after a frustrating spell on the sidelines since his eye-catching performances in the Caribbean. "I probably didn't have enough overs under my belt, " he said, "I've just had a couple of club games over here before I went straight back into the first eleven. I felt a few twinges when I came back first which set me back a bit, but it feels OK now."

There will be a new Irish cricket magazine available in October as Liam Rooney's Cover Point hits the shelves. It is the fifth attempt to launch an Irish-based publication after Irish Cricket (1974-75), Irish Cricket Magazine (1984-87), the Ulster Cricketer (1985-96 and 2005-06) and Irish Cricket Review (1995-96). Cover Point has a mission to spread the gospel of the game throughout the country, with the first issue carrying an interview with Peter Gillespie and TV3's Aidan Cooney, as well as club features and coaching tips. An electronic PDF version of the prototype is available from editor@cover-point. com.

BOOKS, DVDs, magazines and now poetry. The multi-media assault on Irish cricket gathers pace. This weekend I can treat you to little culture with a new poem from James Conway. of the Rathmines Writers Group.

Suddenly there are men in green shirts, but this time, they swing a bat sharp, long and hard.

A tight ball sewn into every bowl, tests again and again. Swinging yorkers the papers say.

Bourda Oval in Georgetown with mention of overs, maidens, caught cleanly and leg before wicket.

The men in green shirts have made it to the Super Eights!

Pushed to beyond ever before.

Bat hard, bowl hard, run hard As the Blarney Army cheers from the fields of Athenry.

THE Irish women's team have a big winter ahead with the ICC Trophy. There will be a casino night next Friday in Clontarf to help raise funds, with tickets at 40 each. More details from Siobhan McBennett at smcbnntt@mail. tcd. ie ANOTHER event worth supporting is the Joe Kyne Memorial Golf Classic run by Clontarf. Held on 6 September, teams can be booked with Paddy Lee (087 9060834) or Ronan O'Reilly (087 2327794).