If it is the brutality of the ECBs decision to punish Durham that strikes first, it is the inconsistency that follows close behind.Oh, yes. There is some logic in the ECBs stance. A financial punishment would clearly have been inappropriate and this action - relegation and a heavy points deductions for next season - certainly sends out a strong deterrent.Against what though, is unclear. Against building a ground in an out-of-town location more than 20 years ago? Against bidding for international games in an over-crowded market place? Against slipping into debt? If so, the ECB needs to be relegating a few other teams.The only difference between Durham and Glamorgan is that, at Durham, the creditors - notably the local council - declined to waive the debt. In Cardiff, they allowed the taxpayer to pick up the bill. Warwickshire owe Birmingham City Council around ￡20m and have already benefited from a repayment holiday.So, if the ECB is to be consistent, shouldnt Glamorgan, who were stripped of a Test in 2012 and obliged to swap a fixture in 2013 after struggling to pay staging agreements for Sri Lanka Test in 2011, be treated in the same manner?And what is the difference between Durham and Hampshire? Or, indeed, Yorkshire? Hampshire, the beneficiaries of this action, have been bailed out to the tune of ￡10m or more by Rod Bransgrove, while Yorkshire are indebted to Colin Graves. The club owes - and continues to pay interest upon - trusts set-up by Graves totalling ￡24m. All were insolvent. The difference is that Hampshire and Yorkshire found benefactors; Durham found judgement. The ECB, with reserves of ￡70m and more, could have taken a more sympathetic approach.Such was Yorkshires plight that, in interviews with ESPNcricinfo, Graves referred to Yorkshire as bankrupt and 48 hours from being written off. So we can only presume that Durham are not being punished for financial mismanagement but for failing to find a sugar daddy to bail them out.Did Durham have to be punished at all? Might the ECB not have reflected that it was, at least in part, complicit in Durhams descent into debt? Might it not have concluded that, having encouraged Durham to build an international venue - a condition of being granted first-class status in 1992 - and then given them a May Test against Sri Lanka starting on a Friday, it had contributed to the difficulties the club has faced?Might it not have reflected that, by encouraging the counties to bid against one another to host international games, things were always going to end this way?And might the ECB not even have reflected that it, like the banks that offered 120% mortgages before the economic crash, had extended credit to Durham far beyond the reasonable? The ECB now admits it has been working on this rescue package for the best part of a year. In that case, why was the Test against Sri Lanka allowed to take place in Chester-le-Street? Why were Hampshire or Nottinghamshire not incentivised to take on that game?This episode is every bit as much the ECBs fault as it is Durhams. It is an inevitable product of the system.Besides, who does this decision punish? Does it punish the officials at Durham who, years ago, embarked on a course that always threatened to end this way? Hardly. Some are dead, some have moved on or retired and one of them (Gordon Hollins, once commercial director at Durham) is now chief operating officer of the professional game at the ECB.Does it punish the investors who involved themselves in the club when they thought hosting international cricket was a lucrative business or the officials at the ECB who created this system and extended the clubs line of credit? Of course not.No, this is a decision that punishes the players and the supporters. Innocent victims of decisions over which they had no control.It wont help them, either. At least one of the players - Keaton Jennings, who recently signed a new deal with the club - is understood to have a clause in their contract allowing them to leave if they are relegated. Those supporters who enjoyed Durhams run to T20 Finals Day this year may conclude there is little point attending in 2017; the points deduction is too much of a handicap. And you can bet that the next club in need of financial assistance will call Wonga before it calls the ECB. The governing body needs to take a more benevolent approach than this.The shame is that, as a cricket club, Durham has excelled. Yes, as a business they have failed and as a business they need to change. But no cricket team had been in the top division for as long (11 years) before today. Only a couple of weeks ago, Ben Stokes, keen to play when he could easily have rested, bowled his side to a crucial victory over Surrey in a thrilling passage of play that seemed to have avoided relegation. To snatch that away devalues so much that went before.Might the ECB have taken such a hard line to make a point? Might it have taken this opportunity to remind the counties of their precarious finances and of the need to embrace a new T20 competition? You would hope not.There are lessons to learn from Durham. We can see (as we can from Hampshire) that out-of-town cricket grounds do not work. And we can see (as we can see from Hampshire and as we will see from Northants) that private ownership (Durham, like Hampshire, is not a members club) brings more problems than it solves. Sympathy for privately owned clubs is limited; if they dont share their profits with the wider game, why would the wider game want to share their losses? Nor will it be forgotten that, a few years ago, Durham breached the salary cap. They are not blameless.Most of all, though, we can see that the arms race by which international games were allocated for a decade or more did not work. And we can see that producing players for England is not sufficiently rewarded. A club that has uncovered such gems as Mark Wood and Stokes should not be begging for help from its governing body. It should be cherished and nurtured.At some clubs, this setback would spark an exodus. But at Durham? There has long been a sense of unity about Durham that other clubs have admired and envied. And it has long been said in county circles that it is hard to drag their players away from the north-east. Maybe the examples of Scott Borthwick and Mark Stoneman show that times have changed. Or maybe this is just the event to redouble their determination and renew their sprit. If Stokes and Wood are ever made available to them in 2017, some Division Two batsmen will find themselves unwitting victims of this episode.There is not much appetite around the first-class counties for punishment of Durham. There is an acceptance that their days as a Test-hosting ground are over (for the foreseeable future, anyway) and an acceptance that they required some intervention. But punishment? No. That comes from the ECB, which has somehow tarnished one of the most wonderful finishes to the county season for years into a squabble about finances and legal action. The reverse alchemists have done it again.Well-governed sport is defined by events on the pitch. Increasingly in English cricket, we see decisions made in committee rooms transcending events on the field. It reflects poorly on the sport and, most of all, poorly on the administrators. Wholesale Nike Shoes Online . For the Wild it was their first win of the season and they now have a record of 1-1-2 while the Jets fall to 2-2. Jets start a six game home stand Friday with another divisional game, home to the Dallas Stars. Cheap Nike Shoes Free Shipping .Y. -- Injured Buffalo Sabres forward Marcus Foligno did not practice with the team Monday and head coach Ron Rolston said its unlikely hell play in Wednesdays season opener in Detroit. http://www.shoesnikewholesale.com/ . - Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco is not a fan of his teams use of the wildcat formation, saying "it makes you look like a high school offence. Deals Nike Shoes .J. -- Marty Brodeur beat the Pittsburgh Penguins yet again. Nike Shoes Black Friday Sale . The Barrie Colts defenceman, who impressed many with his play for Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championship, is the top-ranked skater in the February rankings. He has 19 goals and 24 assists for 43 points in 45 games with the Colts this season.England one-day opener Jason Roy has gone from surf to turf. Growing up in South Africa, the now 25-year-old spent much of his time boarding on the waves but he will return to his birth country as an electrifying top-order batsman hoping to help England build on an ODI series win over Pakistan and the recent Test triumph over the Proteas.Roy, speaking on behalf of Slazenger cricket, told Sky Sports about his early years in Africa, how golf has kept him in nick over the winter, and THAT Ben Stokes innings in Cape Town.Plus, the swashbuckling Surrey star revealed why he will have plenty of support for the five ODIs and two T20Is against South Africa, games you can watch exclusively live on Sky Sports...Did you play much cricket as a kid?JASON ROY: Not much at all. I used to spend a lot of time down at the beach surfing, as well as playing rugby and messing about on my grandparents farm. Cricket only really became a big thing for me when I came over to England at around the age of nine.Who were your early cricketing heroes?JR: Definitely Brian Lara, Jacques Kallis and Ricky Ponting, while among the current generation, I looked up to Hashim Amla, Kevin Pietersen and Kumar Sangakkara, all of whom Ive been lucky enough to share a dressing room with at Surrey. Its been great to learn from those guys. I didnt really understand cricket as a kid and just tried to hit every ball out of the park. You could argue whats changed?, but I would like to think I am a little bit more controlled these days! Jason Roy You scored your first ODI hundred for England in the UAE before Christmas. How have you kept in nick since?JR: I had a few weeks off afterwards relaxing with friends and family, which was really nice as my first overseas tour with England was really intense. Since then, it has been pretty much every day training with Surrey, netting for a half a day and gyming it the rest of the time.Judging by your Twitter and Instagram, youve also been dusting off the golf clubs…JR: Ive squeezed in a couple of rounds! I absolutely love it, Ive got the bug and it gives me such a buzz. My mates reckon I have the potential to be really good, but I try not to think about technical aspects too much and just try to whack it. I dont think Im as good as KP yet, though, as he plays so much. Jason Roy and Kevin Pietersen (pictured) are occasional golfing buddies Are there any crossover skills between cricket and golf?JR: Obviously watching the ball is key in both sports but I sometimes find it easier hitting a moving cricket ball than a static golf ball. I suppose golf hopes me transfer my weight through the ball in cricket and vice versa.How much are you looking forward to getting back in the England camp, especially after the successful Test series against South Africa?JR: Being involved with England over the last year or so, you get a real appreciation of how hard the guys work, how much time and effort they have put into their games individually. It is great to see people like Rooty [Joe Root], a class act wherever he goes, and Stokesy [Ben Stokes] reaping the benefits of that. Watch Ben Stokes score the second fastest double century in history on day two of the second Test against South Africa What did you make of Stokes 258 in Cape Town? Did you see it?JR: It was amazing.dddddddddddd I woke up to hear about it on Twitter and thought: He hasnt, has he? He just went berserk and impressed the world with his skill and power. Id seen him do it before, though, when he hit 15 sixes in a score of 151 not out for England Lions against South Africa A in a one-day game last year. I got 67, but he outdid me!It seems from the outside that there is a no-fear culture in the England dressing room. Is that how you see it?JR: There is a huge sense of freedom, with the way everyone chats to each other and the team talks we have. Its such a comfortable dressing room to be part of, and its like we have been working with each other for 20 years. I think that shows with some of the innings and shots we produce on the cricket field. When he does talk to you, he is extremely constructive but if he has nothing to say, hell keep quiet. Jason Roy on Trevor Bayliss What is Trevor Bayliss like to work with?JR: He is brilliantly honest. When he does talk to you, he is extremely constructive but if he has nothing to say, hell keep quiet. Him and Farby [Paul Farbrace] work so well together - theyll offer advice if you make a mistake in the nets but tell you that its up to you when you are out in the middle. They love the work hard ethos and players trying to make themselves better.Finally, will the Roy clan be out in force during the ODIs and T20Is?JR: My old man lives in England but he is flying out and will be coming to pretty much all the games. My mother will as well, as she lives in South Africa now. My aunt lives in Johannesburg and Ive got relatives in Durban so Im sure theyll make a pit-stop for one or two games.Jason Roy will be using the Slazenger V800 bat in the upcoming ODI and T20I series against South Africa, available to pre-order in March. For more information and to view the full Slazenger Cricket range, head to www.slazenger.com/cricketWatch Englands five-match ODI series and two-match T20I series, live on Sky Sports 2, starting with the first ODI, in Bloemfontein, from 11am on Wednesday. Also See: WATCH: Will England win ODIs? England fixtures/results Get Sky Sports Live cricket on Sky ' ' '