To borrow a line from an old & immortal 10CC song, "I don't like cricket-tah, oh no, I love it-tah". And I do. Yet a couple of cricketing decisions this week, one on either side of the Tasman, have left me both concerned and confused.

One of these matters seems plainly ridiculous, the other (in my mind anyway) overly cautious.

Let's start with this nonsense out of Australia involving the Hobart Women's Big Bash player Emily Smith who's been banned for 12 months (nine of that suspended) after getting caught posting her team's lineup on Instagram A WHOLE HOUR before the rules allowed. I'm not joking.

ONE WHOLE HOUR. I'm amazed she hasn't been thrown in  jail like Mohammed Amir was. Or at least be made to blub herself silly at a carefully managed press conference like Steve Smith did.

Look, I know that rules are rules and there's the very serious and ongoing business of spot-fixing to fight which is why we have these rules, but puhleeze.

We are all adults here, we all know her mistake was an innocent one, we all know the punishment was overly extreme and we all also know the situation would've been much handled with a verbal admonishment, official warning & friendly reminder to all the other players they need to be aware of the rules around such blah blah.

The second decision I query is the one NOT to select Lockie Ferguson to start the first test today against England. Again I can understand the reasoning behind it, I just don't agree.

Perhaps that's just one of many reasons why I'm not a selector, but logic, to me, with 3 tests looming in Australia, would suggest blooding the boy in this format sooner rather than later.

Ferguson brings something no other NZ test bowler can, sheer pace. He flings it/slings it/brings it at 150kph, or 10k faster than anyone else in the country - meaning he's right up there with the world's most fearsome fastmen.

He's fit, ready, raring to go and has already proved both in our domestic game as well as international white ball cricket that he has what it takes.

So why isn't he starting then? Especially seeing as neither of these 2 tests vs England carry world championship ranking points, wouldn't now be the ideal time to debut him before then going on to face the Baggy Green on their patch? The answer seems obvious so why not the outcome?

Because our selectors have decided to stick with those who've delivered consistency and success for years and, as yet, have not really lost form or let us down.

Make no mistake, Southee Boult and Wagner are still a very effective red ball combo and, until form suggests otherwise, equally deserve to retain their starting spots.

Which is a shame for all us wanting to see Lockie in test match whites.

And yes I know his time WILL come. I was just really hoping that time was now.