It is great news for Sussex supporters that Mushtaq Ahmed will be leading their bid for a hattrick of Championship titles.

Mind you, after all the prevaricating that has gone on in the last month over his registration, Mark Robinson and Chris Adams will only believe he is free to play when he turns his arm over for the first time at the Rose Bowl in less than three weeks.

Mushtaq is also contracted to Sussex for 2009 but it might be even more difficult for him to return in a year's time. The ECB have already refused the registrations of five players who, like Mushtaq, are playing in the ICL and ECB chairman Giles Clarke's message this week was clear: When you play in our country you play by our rules.

Having positioned themselves, like every other governing body in world cricket, with the Indian Premier League, the ECB are surely going to tighten up their regulations further in the coming months to ensure that anyone who has played in the ICL will not be allowed to ply their trade in county cricket in the future.

How much their stance hardens will depend on the legal action they are surely likely to face from the five players that have been banned, one of whom is former Sussex bowler Johan van der Wath.

The Indian Board of Control, who effectively runs the IPL, are also organising a lucrative tournament in October for the best domestic teams worldwide and the two finalists in this year's Twenty20 finals will be invited to compete.

It's invitation-only so what is to stop them from banning Sussex, were they to qualify, because of Mushtaq's involvement with the county and the ICL? Do not rule out that possibility because the Indian Board seem determined to drive the rebel ICL to the wall.