Could have been a Cairns

Who is New Zealand's highest paid sportsman? That old pub banter question will be no more after Steve Williams, the Tiger Woods caddy, was usurped by Ryan Nelson.

Kiwi Nelson's five-year signature deal with Blackburn Rovers means he will earn £3.1m a year, earning more than the whole of the Black Caps squad put together. And why not throw in the All Blacks squad as well.

The reason for this post? My Kiwi spy tells me he gave up a burgeoning cricket career for soccer in 1999, when Nelson was seen as the next great hope in New Zealand cricket. Like many multi-talented Kiwi sportsman, however, Nelson could still make the Black Caps if he retires from soccer around the average 35 mark.

Jeff Wilson, the former All Black great, was included in New Zealand's Twenty20 squad two years ago, after a 12-year hiatus from cricket internationals.